Thicker than Blood
by psycho chibbi
Summary: Ever wonder why Zechs doesn't really look like Relena? Why Quatre doesn't really look like his father or Iria? Why Quatre and Zechs look so strangely similar themselves...? Interesting, isn't it? Warnings: Language, Graphic violence Ch 13 up.
1. Why does he hate me?

Thicker than Blood

by: a psycho chibi named Wendy

Hey all! I suddenly started writing this a few days ago after this story line has been buzzing around in my head for several years now.

legal crap!

Disclaimer: GW isn't mine. It should be, but it's not.

Warnings: Language, graphic violence, angst and possible character death. I'm not sure yet of anything else at the moment since this is still a work in progress. Be patient pretty please.

Pairings: None! Ha!

It's actually not yaoi! :dies from shock:

Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

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"This is ridiculous, I'm not discussing this further."

"Dammit, Zechs, you are an asinine self absorbed bastard!"

Pausing in his course for the door to the conference room, Zechs slowly turned and placed his attention on the young blonde man at the long table that had knocked his chair over in his haste to stand up. The defiance he saw in the heated aqua gaze man made a slight growl rumble in his throat. "And you are a paranoid whining little bitch. You're making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be, Quatre." he snorted in annoyance

His eyes narrowing, Quatre felt an ever increasing anger beating against his calm facade. "Have you not heard a single thing I've said?! This concert hall is a security nightmare!" He quickly snatch up the large print out of the concert hall's blueprints and held it up to show all the red circles that were scatted about the paper. "There are 32 points that are not going to be covered for Relena's speech tomorrow with your idiotic plan. 32! How the hell is that acceptable?!" Quatre all but yelled, thoroughly shocking people that were still seated at the table.

"Q! Calm down!" Duo called out with a slight frown. He then shot his attention to the older blonde near the door and his frown deepened. "Quatre has a point. You don't hafta cover all of those points, but there's gotta be a way that you can at least have the higher risk ones taken care of."

"I agree." Une stated from the head of the table. "It's not like your security detail is understaffed, Zechs. If Quatre's intelligence reports are true, then we have to take extra precaution with the possible threat of a new protest group gathering arms." she said calmly to her head of security.

A sneer almost formed on the man's normally passive face as he focused on only the Arabian. "I'm supposed to rely on the word of a group of test tube experiments? I highly doubt tha-" his words were cut off by the sound of fists slamming down on the table hard.

"That's going to far, Zechs!" Quatre shouted, his anger coming to front fully. Jerking away from where both Duo and Trowa tried to stop him, Quatre stormed straight to the former White fang leader. The years had passed by quickly, and now Quatre was only a few inches shorter than the older blonde. His build was also leaner, but the young Arabian was certainly no longer the delicate petite boy they all remembered.

However their height and build difference was the last thing on everyone's mind when Quatre reared back his fist and gave a sharp right hook straight to Zechs's jaw. Ignoring the gasps from Noin and Sally at the table, Quatre didn't give Zechs time to recover when he fisted his hands into the front of the man's preventers jacket. He brought their pale faces dangerously close and glared deep into the shocked ice blue eyes. "You can say whatever the hell you want to about me... But don't you dare mock the Maguanacs around me... They have more honor and integrity than you'll ever have in your entire miserable existence..." Quatre growled viciously.

Zechs' eyes widened slightly at the threat lacing the voice, but soon he was glaring right back. He roughly shoved Quatre away from him and wiped at the blood that was trailing from his lips. He looked at the red smear on his fist briefly, then glanced up at the way Quatre's chest was heaving in his rage. In his mind he wanted to march straight over there and ring that pale neck for daring to touch him. He could feel his hands clenching, ready to teach the Arabian a lesson in respect, but he found that he couldn't move towards him. The heated aqua eyes and that stare of total and utter defiance triggered a memory.

One that left him feeling his anger slipping away. "Hn... You're nothing but a waste of my time, Quatre... Just go back and play in the sand with the rest of those experiments. I don't need you telling me how to do my job." he snorted before turning away.

His blood boiling at his family being called experiments, Quatre grinded his teeth in a weak attempt to offset his anger. "You're nothing but a fuckin coward, Zechs!" he snapped as Zechs was leaving.

Zechs glanced over his shoulder in mild interest and gave a look of amusement. "Forgive me if I'm only a natural human... I wasn't genetically engineered to be perfect like some people.." he said with a smirk before he left quietly.

His comment left Quatre staring in shock for a moment before he felt his body shaking with a deep set rage. "That arrogant bastard! I'll fuckin kill him for that!" Before Quatre could take off after the older man Duo and Trowa were quick to stand in his way. "Back off! I'm going to rip that smug smile right off his face!" Quatre snapped at his two best friends.

"We're not moving, Quatre..." Trowa said quietly, placing his hands firmly on Quatre's shoulders.

Duo stood his ground next to Trowa and nodded. "You can't let Zechs rattle you that much, Q. He's an idiot. He doesn't know what it's like. You should feel sorry for a guy that's that stupid." he added with a teasing wink.

Quatre wanted to stay angry since he rarely got to be, but Duo's words and the reassuring smiles on his two closest friends faces made him let out a deep sigh and a soft chuckle. "I know.. I know... I just thought that I'd finally have all this damn prejudice behind me by now... But it still hurts.." he muttered as he bowed his head and pinched tightly at the bridge of his nose.

Trowa let a faint smile cross his lips as he moved to Quatre's side and wrapped an arm around his shoulder in a comforting gesture. "He only said it because he knew it would hurt you... The way I see it he probably feels that since his past efforts to defeat you failed so miserably then he has to settle for cheap emotional jabs like that. You shouldn't lower yourself to such childish tactics, Quatre."

"Damn straight. Zechs is just jealous. That prick will stop the moment he sees that it doesn't bother you anymore." Duo went to Quatre's other side and patted his back lightly. "Forget Zechs. Let's go hit the bar tonight and get plastered. If we go now we'll have enough time to sleep it off before the speech thing tomorrow." he added on a broad grin.

"I recommend we forgo the booze and just go to that little coffee house next door to my apartment. We'll hit the bar after the speech tomorrow." Trowa offered with a slight smirk as he looked to Quatre for approval.

Their expectant faces and encouraging words were impossible for Quatre to ignore. "I like Trowa's plan better." he admitted with an apologetic look towards Duo.

A slight pout formed over Duo's face. "You always like Trowa's plans better."

"That's because your plans always involve an obscene amount of alcohol." Trowa countered, his smirk growing.

Duo snorted as he began leading away the blonde. "Exactly. How can you not have a good time when an obscene amount of alcohol is involved? But fine. I guess this is what I get for having a bunch of sissy tea drinkers as my best friends. I expect one of you to buy me a triple espresso. Make that two triple espressos." he stated on a huff.

Quatre chuckled and easily went along with the pair. "I'll buy. If we go now you'll have time to burn off all that caffeine before the speech tomorrow." He looked back at the five still seated at the table. "We'll be back tomorrow morning to go over everything one last time. I think I need to gather myself before I can deal with this further.." he called out apologetically.

Une smiled in understanding and nodded. "Of course, Quatre.. You've been working very hard lately anyway.. Remind me to talk to you about scheduling you some vacation time after this assignment." she added in her normal soft tone.

Smiling gratefully, Quatre nodded. "Alright.. Thank you.. Come on, Trowa. You know how Duo gets cranky without his caffeine." he mused as he headed to the door with his two friends.

"Please don't reminded me. I'd like to keep my appetite." came Trowa's sedate reply.

"Oi, was that a crack? That was a crack! I swear, you people don't love me at all." Duo stated over dramatically as he and the other two left the conference room.

The moment the door close Une let out a weary sigh and rubbed slightly at her temples. "This is getting out of hand... The tension between Quatre and Zechs just keeps building..." she muttered to the four still at the table.

"Quatre's tried to be tolerant, but those comments Zechs keeps making about test tube children is really pushing him to his limit." Heero stated flatly.

"I don't understand what that has to do with anything, let alone why Quatre takes such offense to it." Wufei said with a lofted brow.

"I don't get it either." Noin admitted. "Every time Quatre gets brought up in a conversation he makes this really weird comment about experiments or something like that."

Sally frowned slightly and bowed her head as she folded her hands on the table. "You know how in the past that there have been prejudices against others due to skin color, ethnicity or even gender... Well these days even though those things are a faint shadow there's a new group that people have developed a distrust and near hatred of..." Sally glanced between Wufei and Noin before she continued. "Test tube children, or genetically engineered life if you wish to call it by that... The maguanacs and Quatre's entire family were all created in a colony laboratory..."

"I know that... What's the big deal?" Wufei asked, still not seeing the connection.

Une smiled faintly at the Chinese man's words. "You don't know because you were taught that even test tube children were still human beings... But there were many several years ago that saw it as an affront to God. They insisted that the scientists were creating humans with superior power and skills than ordinary ones. The Winner family was accused of this mercilessly because all the children seemed to possess skills that were beyond that of normal children. They wouldn't accept that they were merely gifted, they had to be made that way."

"The Maguanacs were also accused of being genetically engineered super soldiers... Their skills and strengths were thought to be beyond human... Then when Quatre came along and he proved to be a brilliant prodigy both with music and school it brought it to a head..." Heero continued, remembering the news reports well. "Quatre was forced to have private tutors because every private school refused to have an engineered child in their classes making them look like fools. He and his sisters were treated like trash for simply being alive. From what I know it left Quatre very resentful, and he ran away to earth at one point when he was thirteen. That's when he ran into the Maguanacs. After that encounter Quatre returned a completely different person and passively fought for the rights of test tube children by getting involved with the war. The Maguanacs rallied behind him easily." he explained to the pair.

Noin's eyes were wide as she finally understood. "Oh god... And Zechs has been shoving that prejudice in Quatre's face all this time...?"

"It's like Duo and Trowa said.." Sally muttered as she looked towards her friend. "Zechs knows that's the only way he can hurt Quatre. It's the only weak point he has, so he'll hack at it until Quatre blows up like he did a moment ago."

Wufei's eyes narrowed deeply. "That's despicable.. Does he derive some sadistic pleasure from torturing Quatre like that...?"

"I don't know, but he's becoming far more insulting and cruel as time passes." Une said as she stood from her chair. "Now that he knows that insulting the maguanacs will provoke such an explosive reaction , Zechs will more than likely increase his attacks until Quatre won't be able to hold back."

Heero frowned when he understood what Une was getting at. "And if Quatre is angered to that point he won't be thinking clearly enough to know what he's doing.. Leaving Zechs with the advantage should it come to physical blows."

Une nodded with a grim expression on her face. "Exactly... I shouldn't have let this progress.. I need to talk to Zechs now..."

"Wait..." Noin quickly stood and looked at her boss beseechingly. "Let me talk with him first.. Maybe I can figure out why he's doing this..."

She wanted to deal with this herself, but Une knew that Noin was the closest person to the antisocial man. "Alright... Find out what you can, but if this unprovoked prejudice continues I will not hesitate placing Zechs on probation and removing his entitlements as head of security. Make sure you inform him of this."

Noin nodded and moved quickly to the door. "I'll inform him of a lot more than that..." she muttered under her breath as she left the conference room.

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A warm breeze gently blew across the rooftop of the preventers HQ. With it carried the scent of fresh cut grass and something else that Zechs couldn't quite identify. It was sweet and musty, but somewhat pleasant. It settled his nerves slightly as he gazed out onto the city that spread out below him.

He had watched Duo and Trowa walking at either side of a happily laughing Quatre as they made their way to Quatre's convertible that was parked beside Duo's motorcycle in the parking lot. Trowa had hopped into the passenger seat and apparently said something incredibly witty that had both Quatre and Duo clinging desperately to one another barking with laughter. The French pilot barely spoke a single word most of the time, so Zechs was a bit curious what he could have said that would have provoked such a reaction.

To say that Quatre was close to the pair was a drastic understatement. The three did everything together. Worked closely together on missions, bar hopped, and when they found out that Duo could play the guitar they would hold impromptu concerts with Quatre on piano and Trowa on the flute during special events.

What baffled Zechs the most was that Duo and Trowa were polar opposites. Trowa was calm, silent, and calculating. Duo was loud, brazen, and impulsive. Quatre seemed to be the bridge in the massive social gap between them. Like it was through Quatre that they understood and liked one another.

Zechs found him envious of that. The fact that Quatre could easily befriend just about anyone, and those so-called 'friends' would follow him to the ends of the earth on only a smile and a promise things would be better. It infuriated him how the loyalty to the Winner heir was unshakable while people betrayed him at the drop of a hat.

"What the hell is it about him that makes him so damn important...? And why the hell does he have to look like her...?" Zechs asked the silence around him.

Those aqua eyes, that pale delicately featured face, the blonde hair that was merely one shade away from his own. "They made him to mock me... To mock my father..." he muttered bitterly.

"I knew I would find you up here!"

Wincing at the angered voice, Zechs stood rigidly and forced him not to look at the woman that was glaring at his back. "What do you want, Noin..?" he asked flatly.

Stopping a few feet behind him on the rooftop, Noin folded her arms over her chest as she snorted. "What I want is to know why you're being such an insensitive bastard to Quatre. The others told me about the old protests against test tube children. I hardly pictured you as the type to latch on to such bigoted hatred." she started strongly.

The accusation made Zechs let out a sarcastic bark of laughter. "My resentment towards him isn't something that childish, Noin. I have my reasons for hating him." he grunted flatly, still not turning to face her.

"What? Because he defeated your mobile dolls at Libra? Because it was his plan that destroyed the battle ship? Because he built WingZero? Because he led us through the battle with the Barton foundation?" Noin began listing off so she could pinpoint the problem quickly.

Being reminded of those accomplishments made Zechs' fists clench, but he forced himself to calm down. "Those are part of it, but this goes deeper than the war..."

Becoming frustrated herself, Noin closed the space between them and forced the man to face her. "Just tell me, Zechs! Why do you hate him?!"

"Because he was born! I hate the fact he was even created! His very existence drives me insane with an overwhelming rage!" Zechs snapped viciously.

The explosion of anger made the woman stumble back in alarm. "But why...?" she asked on a hesitant whisper.

A scowl formed over his pale brow as Zechs stiffly moved past the only person he considered a friend. "I don't have to tell you... Just stay out of this, Noin..." he grunted as he practically stomped his way to the door that led to the stairwell.

Noin winced when he wrenched the door open so hard that it crashed into the brick wall next to it. As he disappeared from sight she ran her hand through her dark hair. "So much for letting him have it... What the hell is wrong with him...?" She glanced over the edge of the building in time to see Duo riding his motorcycle out of the parking lot, Quatre following with Trowa in his blue convertible. Her expression fell further on seeing the Arabian laughing happily. "What has Quatre done to deserve that much hatred...?"

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Staring deeply into the deep brown liquid that filled his coffee mug, Quatre was mulling over what all had happened that day. The sharp words still stung at his heart, but there was something behind them that wouldn't go away. A nagging feeling that left him so utterly confused it almost hurt.

But above that one thing perplexed him over all else.

"Why does he hate me so much...? I've done everything I could to be civil... I've always listened to his ideas... I've even defended him when the press began persecuting him for being Milliardo... What did I do..?" he asked himself quietly.

Over at the counter waiting for their orders, Duo and Trowa were idly chatting when Duo glanced at the couch in the back of the coffee house that Quatre had perched himself on. On seeing the lost depressed expression on the pale face Duo frowned and lightly nudged Trowa's arm to get his attention. "Look, Tro... He's still dwelling over what that son of a bitch said to him... I'm glad he finally decked the bastard, but now he looks like he feels even worse than he did before.."

Trowa nodded slightly and gave a soft hum. "Hm.. Knowing Quatre he probably feels bad for resorting to such violence... He doesn't gain pleasure from harming others like Zechs obviously does... Probably thinking he did something wrong for Zechs to harbor that much resentment towards him." he added with a frown of his own forming.

Duo shook his head and let out a deep sigh. "Guy's too kind for his own good... But still, Zechs seems to grate on his nerves a lot more than usual. I've seen complete strangers say stuff ten times as worse and even abuse him, but he shakes it all off... It's like it's different when Zechs says it..." he stated, having thought about it for a while now.

"It may be, Duo.." Trowa took hold of the mugs that the barista sat on the counter top and held out the smaller one to the American. "Heero may have been Zechs' rival in a mobile suit, but in truth the entire war was him butting strategic minds with Quatre. Quatre's never told anyone else this, but he always admired Zechs' brutal tactics. The fact that Zechs was able to accomplish so much with raw power and brute force." His gaze settled on the slumped posture the Arabian was in as he held his mug close to him. "He was excited when Zechs joined us during the battle with the Barton foundation... He was looking forward to combining their skills, thinking that the two of them combine could come up with the ultimate defensive and offensive team."

"I get it... Quatre's upset that Zechs wants nothing to do with him... Poor guy... Zechs and Treize musta been like strategic gods to him back then... I noticed that he was sad when Treize died... Musta been because he never got a chance to meet him..." A sad smile crossed Duo's face as he looked back at Trowa. "I bet Quatre and Treize would have gotten along great together if they had the chance... Always calm and smiling... They seemed ta have a similar flair for theatrics too..." When he heard his own words Duo's eyes widened. "You think that may be the reason...? Cuz Quatre is like Treize...?"

Trowa gave the idea a great deal of thought, and found himself nodding slowly. "It may be at least one of the reasons..." After a moment he shook his head and motioned towards the blonde. "Either way, we shouldn't let him brood like that. Let's try to distract him from it for now at least. You know he's going to be worrying about Relena's public appearance tomorrow. He doesn't need this weighting him down too." he stated as he moved towards the back of the coffee shop.

"Seriously. I'm surprised he hasn't gone bald with how much he stresses over every detail." Duo chuckled, taking a sip of the pure caffeine he had in his smaller mug. "Hell yeah.. That's the good stuff.." he snickered, his left eye already twitching slightly. His habitual triple espresso always made him twitch, which was one of the reasons he loved them so.

At the black upholstered couch in back of the coffee house, Quatre felt himself slowly hurting inside the longer he thought of the strange feelings that were confusing him. However he was abruptly startled when Duo plopped down on the couch next to him. "Duo!" he yelped when he nearly spilt his decaf mochaccino on himself.

Duo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Q. Had ta bust ya outta that gloomy pose somehow." he said on a chuckle.

Quatre smiled weakly as Trowa took up the armchair in front of the couch. "I know I've been less than my normal cheery self.. I'm sorry, it's just... It's just what happened today is really bothering me..." he muttered as he returned to staring at him coffee.

"You shouldn't let his prejudice comments affect you so much, Quatre." Trowa stated calmly before taking a sip of his chai tea.

The blonde sighed deeply and shook his head. "It's not really what he said that bothers me... Whenever Zechs and I fight... I.. I just get this weird feeling in the pit of my stomach... Like I know I shouldn't be fighting him, but I can't stop myself... I've never felt that before... It's confusing me..." he mumbled softly.

His uncertainty made both Duo and Trowa share a brief concerned glance before they focused back on Quatre. "Is there something else that's buggin you, Q...?" Duo asked slowly.

Having to set his mug down on the glass coffee table that separated the arm chair from the couch, Quatre ran his trembling hands through his slightly longer hair. He wasn't sure why he was letting it grow out, but now it was about half halfway down to his shoulders and it actually had a natural wave to it. He clutched lightly to his longer locks and gave a frustrated groan. "That's just it.. I'm not sure... It's just... Something in Zechs' eyes... Right after I punched him... He.. He almost looked relieved.. Maybe even happy that I had done it..." he pieced together as best as he could.

The pair watching the blonde were silent for a moment as they let this information sink in. "Damn.. That's twisted... You think he wanted you to hit him...?" Duo asked in confusion.

"I don't know... All I know is when I saw the blood on his face I felt so horrible... Like I was going to be sick... And then when I saw him smirk... It just felt so wrong... But I wanted to hit him again... I wanted to hit him so badly before you two stopped me..." He gave his two closest friends imploring looks as he whispered "Is there something wrong with me...? Do you think I may be losing myself again...?" he asked, fear lacing his voice.

Trowa didn't hesitate to shake his head. "Of course not, Quatre. You're too strong to let yourself go that far again. Zechs is just purposely provoking you. All you need to do is learn to tune him out. Once he sees that he can't pull those reaction from you anymore he'll stop." he advised calmly.

"And if he doesn't take the hint then me an Tro will just hafta straighten him out manually, right Tro?" Duo asked the Frenchman with a sly wink towards Quatre.

"Indeed."

When he saw the faint smirk on Trowa's lips Quatre couldn't stop the soft laugh that escaped him. "Heh.. Thanks, guys... I really appreciate it, but I'm hoping there won't be anymore violence... Let's talk about something else. Were you still going to try for those concert tickets when they go on sale, Duo?" he asked to change the subject.

"Oh yeah! I'm gonna attempt it, but the last time these guys were touring every concert sold out in under an hour. I'm gonna hafta like camp out at the ticket box office and be first in line cuz there's no way I'd be able to get em on the phone or online." Duo muttered as he thought about it.

"You do know that we do have a few connections. We could probably call before they sell and just tell them who we are, and that they better give us reserved seats or we'll blow them up." Trowa stated calmly.

The fact he said it so impassively had both Duo and Quatre blinking in alarm. However when they saw that tiny smirk twitch onto Trowa's lips they looked towards one another before they promptly broke out into a fit of laughter. Pleased that his joke went over so well, Trowa hummed softly in amusement and returned to his tea. "I should really tone down my jokes.. I'm not sure if the two of you can handle it..."

The pair on the couch were trying hard to hold back their giggles, but when Trowa suddenly looked at them and stuck out his tongue with a blank expression on his face they both fell off the couch laughing until their eyes watered.

Trowa watched them cling to one another on the tiled floor as they tried to calm themselves. He then took another sip of his tea and let out a weary sigh. "It's such a curse to be this damn hilarious..." he muttered lightly.

Which earned another bout of hysterical laughter.

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TBC

Wow

Who know Trowa was so funny?

Hehe

Later!


	2. I refuse to hurt you

What? An update so soon?

Yup.

In this fic I'm making the chapters shorter than some of my previous stories, so that means the possibility for more frequent updates.

Notice I said 'possibility'.

Hehe

Enjoy!

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Chapter 2

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The next day, the concert hall was a buzz with activity. Dozens of reporters were getting the rules explained to them in the back rows of seats by Une. Zechs was going over the positions and protocols to well over 60 men and women dressed in preventer and local police uniforms. And Quatre was going over his introduction speech for Relena on the main stage.

His outing with Duo and Trowa did him a world of good to calm himself and focus on the task at hand. Besides introducing the famous diplomat, and making a PR appearance to boost Relena's viewer turn out, Quatre was serving as the pacifist's bodyguard on stage. He and Relena were going to be completely isolated on the large stage, so he was going to have to be on constant alert while also 'appearing' to be supportive to whatever the woman said.

He was less than thrilled to be forced through another of these mundane repetitive speeches, but it was his job as a pacifist diplomat to fall in step with the crowd. "Even if I find the ringleader incredibly irritating..." he muttered to himself as he carelessly tossed his notes over his shoulder. "I don't need a prewritten speech.. I'll just make something up.."

At that moment Heero moved up the steps of the stage in time to see the papers floating to the ground. He then looked to the blonde that was lightly rubbing at his temples. "Nervous...?" he asked, despite knowing that it was a silly question.

Quatre chuckled wearily and shook his head. "No.. Just eager for this to be over with... I hate these formal rehearsed gatherings... She should just get up here, say what she needs to then answer questions.. Not all this flashy media garbage..." he grumbled.

Heero smirked at that and moved to stand near the Arabian. "I've always preferred handling your public announcements. Simple and to the point. Relena insists on putting on a show and controlling every aspect of it."

Taking note of the hint of venting in Heero's voice, Quatre smiled sympathetically. "That why you two didn't work out? She wanted to control the show?" He knew it was a personal matter, but it wasn't often that Heero instigated a conversation.

Hardly offended, Heero readily nodded. "Yeah. I got tired of it and this. I don't have the patience to indulge her in setting these things up. I'm much happier seeing you up here than myself." he admitted shamelessly.

"Heh, thanks, Heero. Glad to know you enjoy watching me act like I'm paying attention to her long winded speeches." Quatre retorted dryly.

"Hm, joking aside, I'm curious about something..."

Intrigued, Quatre turned to face the Japanese man fully. "About what?"

Heero paused to think of how to word his question. "I know you're not Relena's biggest fan, but why were you so adamant about the security detail for today?"

"Ah... I'm not sure.. It's just the way this building is made unsettles me.. There are too many entry points and blind spots... My sources told me that this new protest group against Relena is quickly gathering force... The way this building is set up just seems like too tempting of a target..." Quatre explained as he looked at all the balconies, and the massive backstage area behind them.

Easily spotting several possible sniper points, Heero had to agree. "I see what you mean... But don't forget that you may be just as big a target as Relena. You've been in the public eye a lot longer than she has. Although I don't recall anyone ever protesting your public addresses." he added now that he attempted to remember them.

Quatre shrugged lightly as if it didn't matter. "There have been a few, but not many.. I think it just annoys people that she insists on bringing religion into everything and how she talks as if everyone should already be following her words to the letter."

Now intrigued, Heero took a step closer. "So you don't approve of Relena's approaches either...?"

"Her methods are childish at best. But it really isn't my place to say. The public loves her for the most part. Plus she has a clean record." Quatre lightly gestured towards the reporters at the back of the concert hall and smirked. "If I had stepped up in her stead my entire blood stained record would be dragged through the mud and beaten to death. That would just cause unnecessary conflict and place more strain on my family." he concluded with a shrug.

"So you're content with a secondary role?"

The blonde easily nodded. "Yeah. I figure I've already taken all my hits. Time for someone else to get their ass handed to them by the public's scrutiny." Quatre quipped with a wink.

That wink made Heero chuckle softly. "Alright. You just keep a look out from your position on the stage. I'll be monitoring things from the top left balcony, Wufei and Duo will be at their posts in front of the stage, and Zechs and Trowa will be in the wings"

"And the points that Zechs was going to neglect...?"

"We were able to cut them down to twelve. The rest Sally and Noin are going to be constantly patrolling, so we should be good. We'll give you an ear piece so you can hear us communicating throughout the event."

Visible relief was apparent on his pale face as Quatre let out a long sigh. "Well.. That eases some of my tension. However I'll feel a great deal better when this is all over with." he added on a chuckle.

"I think we all will..." Heero paused for a moment like he was trying to think of something before he met that steady aqua gaze. "Mind if I tag along with you tonight when you go to the bar? After all this an obscene amount of alcohol sounds pretty good."

The request was surprising, but a cheerful smile instantly pulled over Quatre's face as he nodded. "If you can put up with Duo singing out of key show tunes then sure. We were going to meet up in the parking lot and go over the night's plans there. You can join us out there."

Heero's lips twitched up slightly as he nodded. "Sounds good. I better go check out the security points for Relena's arrival. I'll meet up with you later." He didn't wait for a reply before he turned and walked off stage.

Quatre watched him move up the aisles of seats towards the lobby, and suddenly felt his mood brighten considerably. Since the war he and Heero had a purely working relationship. Neither really saying anything more to one another than was really necessary. _'But now it seems like he's wanting to be my friend... Heh, that only took seven years.'_ he thought in amusement.

As he turned his attention to picking up the notes off the black stage top, he was fully aware of a pair of eyes watching him from the wings.

Zechs clenched his fists tightly at what he just witnessed, and felt that anger begin to flare up again. _'Now Heero's falling for that damn replicated smile... He's just a cheap copy...' _He was about to go into another anger fueled mental tangent, but when Quatre suddenly sat down on the stage he felt his mind go blank. _'Wha... What is he doing...?'_

Running his hands through his pale hair, Quatre took a deep shuddering breath and let it out slowly. "What do you want, Zechs...?" he asked in a tired voice.

Unnerved that Quatre knew he was there, Zechs's anger spiked up slightly. He slowly walked out from the wings and glared at the figure on the floor. "How did you know I was there...?"

"I could feel you glaring at me. You do it so often I can pick it out of anywhere." Quatre admitted on a weak laugh. He was expecting the faint growl that followed his words, then lifted his head to meet the cold gaze fixed on him. "What did I do this time...? Did I say something wrong? Did I walk in an offensive manner? Just tell me now so you can go ahead an yell at me. Call me a freak of nature, or a lab rat, or whatever else you think I am... I don't feel like arguing with you anymore.." the Arabian whispered as he bowed his head and awaited the abuse.

When that blonde head bowed in resignation Zechs felt his heart clench tightly. _'No.. No, this isn't supposed to happen... He's supposed to fight!'_ he thought almost desperately.

Quatre was quietly awaiting the hatred filled words, but was startled when a strong pair of hands gripped at the lapels of his uniform jacket and roughly dragged him to his feet. He then found himself staring into almost wild ice blue eyes. "Zechs?! What are you doing?!" he yelped.

Zechs didn't respond, but began roughly pulling the Arabian into the wings out of sight from everyone in the concert hall. When he was certain that no one would be able to see them, Zechs threw Quatre to the floor hard. His heart pounded in his chest when Quatre cringed away and began scooting back on the floor with those aqua eyes wide in fear. "Dammit, don't look at me like that! Fight, damn you!" he hissed savagely.

"Fight...?" Quatre repeated in confusion. "Zechs, what the hell do you want from me...? What have I done? I don't understand why you're doing this..." he called out on a shaking voice. The fury he saw in the older blonde's eyes made his chest feel like it was going to explode. He clutched slightly at the black shirt he wore under his preventers jacket when it was suddenly harder to breathe. "W-why are you doing this to me...?"

Why indeed? Quatre had never bothered to ask him so point blank in all the years they had been at odds with one another. Zechs couldn't force himself to answer. All he could do was stare down at the Arabian on the floor looking at him with that hurt and wary expression on the pale face. _'Why does he have to look like her...? That's the same look she gave him... It's happening all over again.. Why won't he fight me?!'_

When Zechs made no move to explain or back off Quatre felt himself growing frustrated. "If you're not going to answer me then just leave me alone... We both have more important things to do..." He slowly got back to his feet and dusted off his clothes. "If you want to settle this in a fight so badly then I'm sorry... I have no desire for any further conflict with you, Zechs..." He looked into the churning pale eyes fixed on him and frowned deeply. "I don't want to fight you, Zechs... Please stop trying to provoke me... You've been doing this ever since the battle at Libra... Singling me out, cornering me and forcing me to lash out at you..."

Surprised that Quatre had figured that out, Zechs felt his pulse rate increase slightly. "I.."

"Save it, Zechs..." Quatre shook his head and turned to walk towards the dressing rooms back stage so he could get ready for the speech. "I'm not doing this anymore, Zechs... I'm not going to give in and let this resort to mindless violence... I refuse to hurt you."

His eyes snapping wide open at that last comment, Zechs reached out and snatched at Quatre's wrist before the Arabian could retreat further. "What the hell are you talking about?!" he growled sharply.

It took all of Quatre's control to keep his face calm as he glanced back over his shoulder. "Don't try acting like you don't know... I saw it in your eyes yesterday.. You wanted me to hit you... You wanted me to blow up and become violent..." He jerked his wrist away from the grip that suddenly loosened and frowned when he saw the alarm in the normally stoic gaze. "And just now you were trying to corner me again.."

Quatre took a few cautious steps back as his frown deepened. He had been mulling over this the entire night, and now he was going to get this issue dealt with one way or another. "I have no idea why, but you're acting like you want me to hurt you... I can see it in your eyes... When I said I wasn't going to argue with you, you nearly panicked." He easily picked up that flash of panic in the pale eyes again as he continued. "You have this strange need to force me into becoming hostile towards you, but I'm letting you know now that I'm not going to cater to this any further. Either you tell me what the hell is going through your head, or I'm going to put forth every effort to ignore you completely."

"Ignore me...?" Zechs repeated on a snort.

"Yes, and I'll let you know now that I can pretend that you don't even exists... I won't even attempt to avoid you... You'll be nothing but something taking up space to me..." Quatre looked away and walked towards the dressing rooms again. "I don't want to resort to that, but if you give me no other choice I'll literally never acknowledge you ever again... And if you really have a need for me to harm you, then it will affect you far more than it will me... Think about that for now.. I've got an assignment to prepare for..." he muttered as he disappeared behind a dark blue curtain.

Alone on stage, Zechs was trying to regain his composure. He never expected Quatre to peg him so precisely. He was right. Everything he said was the truth. Zechs did want Quatre to hurt him. But now that his game was called Zechs found himself facing an unexpected turn. _'Could he really ignore me...? Act like I don't exist...?'_ The thought of never being able to see that defiance and the fury behind the kind face made a hollow ache form in his chest.

That's what he needed. He needed to experience that anger.

In the back of his mind he knew he was forcing himself through a twisted obsession that had grown more dangerous as time passed. When Quatre finally hit him he felt a sudden rush as things became clearer. He couldn't stop at just provoking and watching Quatre's anger, he had to feel it. Let himself become a victim to it. He had to get the Arabian to hate him with an all out passion.

'_But how can I do that now...? He's threatening to ignore me... I can't let him... I have to figure out a way to get him to fight me... There's got to be a way...'_ He found himself wandering back towards center stage, and lifted his head in time to see Wufei and Trowa walking down the aisle towards the stage. _'But if I go too far it will only rally the others against me... Une has already threatened me with probation if I continue using taboo slander against test tube children... Plus it seems to have lost its affect on him... I need to find another weak point... One that isn't as blunt...'_

-"Zechs? Relena's transport will be arriving soon."- Noin's voice called out from his wrist communicator.

Broken from his thoughts, Zechs grumbled slightly and raised his wrist up so he could press the all channels button. "All security teams report to your posts immediately. Switch to headset communications, and report any suspicious activity immediately. Do not attempt to handle any disturbances without relaying the situation first." He waited for the confirmation from all ten teams before he pulled out his own head set from his jacket pocket. Once he had it on he made his way to the back entrance that Relena would be entering from.

"I can agree with Quatre on one thing.. I'm ready for this day to be over with..."

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TBC

How strange...

Later!


	3. Can't make any promises

Wonder what will happen this time...

Enjoy!

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Chapter 3

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"I know that this new peaceful era is a drastic change for most of us. Some of us have seen nothing but war and torment for most of our lives, while others were mercifully spared from such hardships. One of the questions I'm often faced with is how will the companies and workers that have earned their living creating objects of war survive without their products being used? I have given this a great deal of thought, and my solution to this it finding other uses for the products themselves in a non violent process."

Looking out over the crowd of faces all focused on her, Relena kept her smile in place as she continued with her speech from behind the white podium on center stage. "The factories that specialize in making explosives and ammunition for the now obsolete mobile suits could be easily be redesigned to suit mining and development purposes for the Mars terra forming projects. Even the old Mobile suit factories could easily be reformed into engineering suits that specialize in construction and excavating. This course would also mean work for former soldiers whose skills pertain mainly to piloting." she stated on a clearly optimistic tone.

At her side smiling calmly and keeping his gaze out over the crowd was Quatre dressed in his formal attire. Black pressed trousers, polished black wingtips, and a crisp white dress shirt with cravat under a tailored dark blue waist length jacket that had modest silver embellishments along the cuffs and lapels. It was simple, but it also flattered his lean frame nicely.

He knew he that he was nothing more than eye candy for all of his own supporters that were only there because he was. Something for people to look at while Relena gave a speech that was remarkably similar to the ones that she had been giving for the past two months. Not that he was really paying attention.

The entire time he was standing there, smiling to hide the fact he didn't want to be there, he was busy listening to the communications that were taking place through the receiver in his left ear. _'Maybe this is why I let my hair grow out...'_ he thought in amusement. He knew his hair that now was past his ears hid the already hard to spot receiver flawlessly. So he had no worries of anyone knowing that he wasn't paying attention. _'Listening to the security reports are more interesting anyway. I think the majority of the audience would understand.'_

Quatre had to fight off the little smirk that wanted to form, and focused his attention back on the voice that was calling out over the receiver.

-"Teams Gamma, Delta, Beta and Theta report."- Zechs' voice call out.

-"Delta team: everything's clear here, sir."-

-"Theta team: nothing to report."-

-"Gamma team: Protestors are gathering closer to the concert hall, but local authorities are keeping the proceedings peaceful."-

There was a pause and soon Zechs' voice called out again. -"Beta team, report... Beta team, respond..."- When nothing answered Quatre felt his heart pick up slightly. -"Alpha team, send who you can spare to investigate Beta's location. Fire, assist them."-

Each team consisted of at least five members of highly trained operatives. For an entire team to not respond was not a good sign.

-"Epsilon, do you see anything on the cameras at Beta's location?"- Heero's voice asked.

-"Negative, sir... We can't find any trace of them... There aren't any disturbances anywhere.. They all seemed to just step into the camera's blind spot one at a time and never reappeared..."-

-"Wind! Three of the Beta team have been found beaten badly. We still can't locate the last two, but these three need medical attention quickly!"- Noin's voice called out quickly.

'_This isn't good.. We've been breeched...'_ Quatre thought, but there was nothing he could do. Relena had his hands tied by having him accompany her on stage, so all he could do was force his expression to remain calm and keep his eyes on everything around them. If anything happened he was the only one that could push Relena out of harms way.

-"Prince, you should prepare yourself in case we need to rush Relena off the stage."- Trowa stated, and one glance towards stage right let Quatre see the concerned frown on his friend's face hidden in the wings.

Quatre nodded in a way that to the audience looked as if he was agreeing to a point Relena had just made.

-"Prince, from your standpoint, which contingency plan would cause less panic should we encounter a disturbance?"- Une's voice asked from her position in the security room with the Epsilon team.

It only took a moment for Quatre to go over their list of preplanned scenarios. When he decided, he smoothly brushed his hair back with his right hand. Purposely he paused for a brief moment in the motion to allow Zechs in the stage left wing to see his index and middle finger and his thumb running through his wavy hair.

-"Prince has suggested contingency plan three. I concur. All teams consisting of eight members split in half and secure the concert hall area..."- There was a brief pause before Zechs began speaking to him directly. -"Prince, our communications may have been compromised, so I'm speaking on a private frequency that only you are hearing right now. Her speech should conclude in the next five minutes. During the applause act like you're getting a message on your phone then inform her that something has come up. Tell her that her brother needs to see her. She'll know that she has to leave immediately, then quickly escort her back stage. We'll handle everything else."- Zechs told him firmly.

Quatre gave another discreet nod, then carefully scanned the crowd for anything suspicious. He couldn't spot anything right off hand, but the constant flashing lights from the photographers made him uneasy. _'Just keep calm, Quatre..'_ he told himself over and over.

The next three minutes passed by agonizingly slow, but Relena finally concluded her speech and the entire audience stood up in applause. On cue, Quatre paused in his clapping to fish out his phone from his jacket pocket to look at the display screen briefly and let his eyes widen in surprise. He immediately went to Relena's side and leaned down to whisper into her ear. "Relena, you're brother needs to see you..."

Relena's eyes grew wide as well and she turned quickly to look into Quatre's serious aqua gaze. The look of worry behind her blue eyes was genuine and she covered her mouth in shock. She then turned her attention back to the various microphones on the podium and raised her hands to get the crowd to quiet down. Once she could speak over the noise she leaned towards the microphones. "My deepest apologies to you all, but I've just been informed of an urgent matter that I must attend to right now. So with regret I must cancel the press Q and A for this evening, but I will happily reschedule for another time hopefully in this week. Again I apologize. Good evening to you all."

The moment Relena was done, Quatre took hold of her arm and led her off stage towards where Zechs was awaiting them behind the black curtains. Once Relena was off stage suddenly a blaring buzzing noise accompanied by the sound of a loud bell tore through the complaints of everyone gathered in the concert hall. Flashing red lights from the fire alarms to the building soon followed, which startled everyone.

"What's going on?!" Relena shouted over the alarm.

"Contingency plan three!" Zechs called out as he quickly ushered his sister further back stage.

Just as quickly at the alarms started they cut off. Duo was then bounding up the stage steps dressed in a regular security officer's uniform. He moved quickly to the microphones at the podium and called out to all the confused people. "Sorry about that, folks! Some kid pulled one of the fire alarms near the front doors, so there's no need to worry. But the sprinkler system was charged before we could stop it. So we need to ask everyone to calmly exit the building just in case the heat from the stage lights sets them off. You news media guys better get your equipment out of here fast. If the sprinklers go off this place will be soaked in seconds." He then watched in satisfaction as the press all scrambled to get their cameras and laptops out of the buildings as fast as they could.

When most of the people were calmly filing out of the building, Duo moved to where Trowa had gone to join Quatre and Zechs back stage to watch after the nervous vice foreign minister. "Well, that went better than I expected." Duo chuckled.

"For now at least." Zechs muttered. "We still have two people missing. As soon as the building is cleared of civilians we need to search for them."

"If the other three were led from their posts, we may have to consider that the two were spies and caught them off guard." Quatre pointed out quickly.

"But how would we be able to determine that?" Trowa questioned with a frown.

Quatre glanced at his former partner as he responded. "If the two missing were the first ones to disappear from their posts that would be a major sign, but it's just an option we may have to consider if we don't locate them." He removed the earpiece he had on and pulled out his head set from his trouser pocket. "We better get Relena to a secure location now..."

"Hold it right there, Quatre." Zechs cut in abruptly. "Both you and Relena need to be placed in a secure location. This attack could just as easily be aimed at you as it is her."

Although he wanted to argue, Quatre knew he was right. "I know... Very well. We better move quickly..." he murmured as he placed his head set on.

"Me and Tro will check out the back and make sure the armored car is in position. We'll signal you when it's safe to head back there." Duo said before he and Trowa raced off to the back entrance near the dressing rooms.

As they left Relena let out a deep sigh and rubbed lightly at her temples. "Why must people be so foolish...? Targeting myself and Quatre because we promote peace? I don't understand..." she muttered loudly.

Quatre glanced briefly towards Zechs. "Some people only know violence... The thought of facing a peaceful future is just as terrifying to them as another decade of war is to us..." He bowed his head slightly and let out a deep breath. "You can't expect to have everyone fall in step with your beliefs, Relena... All we can do is give a peaceful alternative to people. It's up to them whether or not they take it."

Relena frowned in annoyance and folded her arms over her pink blazer clad chest. "I'm well aware of that, Quatre, but what would they gain from our deaths? They would be turning us into martyrs."

"It would be like the Heero Yuy assassination all over again." Zechs informed his sister sedately. "Quatre's supporters alone would be in an full blown outrage. His supporters cover most of Africa, Asia, and both north and south America. Not to mention the colonies."

When her brother listed off the areas that the Arabian was strong in it made Relena frown faintly. "Sounds as if Quatre's reach surpasses my own..."

"That's only because I've been in public speaking since I was a child. Most of my supporters have watched me grow up over the past nine years... Anyway, it's not like we have to be concerned with..." When Quatre lifted his head the sight of a all too familiar faint red dot moving along Relena's back made his heart freeze.

Quatre barely had time to register the threat when he surged forward. "Get down!"

Promptly he shoved both Relena and Zechs to the floor. The instant they were down Quatre spun around, reached behind his back and pulled out the gun he had strapped under his jacket in one swift motion. His gaze then shot up to the catwalks above the stage where he instantly saw the black clad figure aiming a sniper rifle. Without hesitating he aimed his gun straight at the figure and fired three times in quick succession.

By the time Zechs finally sat up after the gunfire he watched the black figure plummet the forty feet from the catwalk and land on the stage with a sickening thud. "Stay down, Relena..." he told his trembling sister quickly before moving to investigate the unmoving body.

If the assassin hadn't been killed by the gushing wounds in his chest, then the fall certainly finished the job by the large dark puddle forming under the figure's head.

Reaching out, he tugged the black knit ski mask off to reveal the face of a man in his late thirties with shaggy brown hair. "It's one of the beta team..." he growled loudly.

-"Wind! What's going on?! I heard gun shots!"- Heero's voice called over the head set.

Zechs reached up and pressed a button on his headset. "Prince was able to gun down a sniper before he took a kill shot. All available teams converge at the stage immediately."

"Z... Zechs..."

"What is it, Quatre?" Zechs asked quickly as he began going through the sniper's pockets. Hopefully for anything that would give them a clue to his origin.

"I... I don't think I got him before he could take a shot..."

Zechs looked over at the Arabian with a frown. "What do you..." Before he could ask his question he froze when he saw Quatre clutching at the right side of his stomach. "Quatre...?" His voice was lost when the sound of Quatre's gun falling to the stage floor echoed all around them.

His legs suddenly buckling from under him, Quatre's breath became ragged as he landed on the wooden floor on his knees. He slowly pulled his hand away to reveal a large dark stain on his blue jacket and his palm coated red. His aqua eyes grew wide on seeing the blood, but he felt choked for air and began coughing roughly.

Relena watched in horror as Quatre covered his mouth with his left hand only to have lines of thick dark crimson begin leaking between his fingers. "Quatre!" she shouted as tears filled her eyes.

His heart beating out of control, Zechs felt numb as he stood frozen to the spot. He could only stare at the bloodied figure on the floor. "Quatre..."

More blood began falling from where Quatre was desperately trying to keep his mouth covered. His efforts were futile when his body seemed to convulse hard. The blood that seemed to explode from behind his hand was almost black that it was nearly invisible as it struck the stage top. Quatre lurched forward, having to brace himself on his arms as he trembled violently. He was in a state panic when he still couldn't breathe, but after a few body jarring coughs he was able to get air into his lungs again.

His blurred aqua eyes blinked rapidly, but the sight of the black liquid beneath him and putrid smell of it made him want to retch again. Knowing that he couldn't let himself fall into it, he used what little strength he had left to force himself to push towards his left. He didn't even feel himself striking the floor barely a foot in front of Relena.

Zechs was still in shock at seeing all the blood, but when he saw Quatre collapse and heard Relena calling out the Arabian's name again in terror his hand shot up to his headset. "Sally! Quatre's been hit! We need you backstage now!" he shouted quickly, not even bothering with code names as he rushed to Quatre's side.

Ignoring the frantic calls that were shouted into the headset, Zechs took hold of the trembling body and pulled off the blue jacket. When he saw that the bullet had penetrated straight through Quatre's body and left an exit wound in his back he gritted his teeth in panic. He knew he had to stop the bleeding until Sally got there, so he pulled the bloodied white shirt off of him and ripped it in half so he could wrap and wad it up at both the ugly wounds on the pale skin. Having to move to the Arabian's left side, he ended up half embracing him so he could prop him up and apply pressure on both wounds.

All these motions were a massive blur to Quatre as he began feeling incredibly tired. He noticed a warmth wrapped around him that felt good and only lulled him further into sleep. However the voice that was calling out to him wasn't one that he was expecting. Quatre lifted his dizzy head and saw the look of fear on the face that was hovering over him.

Although it was confusing, he was able to look into the frantic icy depths fixed on him, and gave a faint bloodstained smile. "Thought you hated me..." he whispered weakly.

The words left Zechs chuckling for some sadistic reason as he held on tighter to the younger blonde. "I do, but that doesn't mean I want you dead... I wouldn't have anyone left to hate if you died on me..." he admitted, being quite honest in this tragic moment.

Quatre gave a choked laugh and let his head rest on the older man's shoulder. "I'm sure you'd find someone else eventually... Zechs...?"

"What...?"

"Can.. Can you tell me why...? Why you hate me...? Was it something I did...? If I did something wrong, I'm sorry... I just need to know.. Before..."

"Hey, stop that..." Zechs growled when it felt like Quatre was already giving in. "I'll tell you everything if you pull through this... So if you really need to know you better live, dammit..." he grunted sharply as he heard rapid footsteps hitting the stage from all around them.

Quatre gave a soft raspy chuckle as he lightly gripped at the strong arms around him. "I'll try... But I can't make any.. Any promises..." he whispered as his eyes began feeling heavy.

When the hands that held onto his arm suddenly fell limp Zechs' eyes grew wide in utter fear.

"Quatre...? Quatre!? Dammit, don't do this to me! QUATRE!"

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TBC

I can't make any promises either.

Later


	4. I can still save him

Seesh...

Try to put in a cliff hanger and people get all crazy.

Anywho, since I'm so awesomely nice, here's the next part already.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 4

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The air was thick with tension in the stark white corridor outside the ER. Sally had barked out orders and demands that instantly got fulfilled when the hospital staff saw who was on the stretcher that was rushed into the emergency wing. She even physically pushed away everyone that attempted to follow them back into the operating room. Words of too many people would hinder any chances of saving him. That everyone could only wait until they had a chance to do what they could.

So in the corridor everyone stayed. None of them knew how long they had been waiting for any kind of news, but time seemed to drag by agonizingly slow. The longer it took, the more conflicted they felt. If they were still in there that meant he still had to be alive, but they had no idea what the medical team was having to do in order to keep him alive.

Horrid images of their friend and comrade laid out on an operating table getting God only knew what cut open. And the blood. There was so much blood that all of them were afraid that he wouldn't even make it to the hospital. By whatever powers that be, he was still breathing, however just barely. That pale skin darkened with drying blood, and those ever smiling lips tinted a faint blue color.

None of them could believe it. It had to be a nightmare. He was supposed to be going out with his friends now. Laughing at Duo who had managed to launch the eightball off the pool table again while Trowa and Heero were challenging each other to shots of whiskey at the bar. That's where he was supposed to be.

Not in there...

Dying.

Each of them were barely holding themselves together as they awaited Quatre's fate. Duo was leaning heavily against Trowa as he tried to keep the tears at bay. Quatre was his best friend. The closest thing to a brother he ever had. He was nearly sick when he had seen what had happened to the Arabian, and since that moment he had clung to the tall Frenchman before he broke down completely. From how his face was buried against the strong unmoving shoulder he couldn't see how Trowa had lost that battle the moment Sally disappeared behind the swinging doors with Quatre.

As silent tears slipped down his expressionless face, Trowa held onto the trembling American firmly. He knew better than anyone what Duo was going through because he was feeling the same thing. Behind that calm mask that was only intact for Duo's sake. Quatre was his first real friend, even though it took him forever to realize that. Someone that was able to look beyond his nameless past, and even encouraged him to hold on to the one he had taken for the war. The moment Quatre had told him that he didn't have to be No-name anymore, and Duo had readily agreed he knew that the two of him would be his closest companions from that day on. _'If anything happens to Quatre... I don't know if Duo or myself will be able to handle it...'_

He didn't want to think about it, but the longer they were left waiting the more he was forced to face that possible outcome. _'Not yet though...'_ Holding tighter to Duo, Trowa glanced around to see how everyone else was fairing so he could focus on something else.

Noin was leaning against a white wall with her face buried into her hands. _'She's probably just as heart broken as Duo...'_ Wufei was standing close to her with an arm wrapped around her for support, his somber expression telling just how worried he was. Although the Chinese man wasn't particularly close to Quatre, Trowa knew that Wufei had the utmost respect for the honesty and loyalty that Quatre readily gave him.

His attention then was drawn to the sound of steady footsteps walking by him yet again. Heero had taken to pacing the corridor stiffly within the past twenty minutes. The sound of Heero's heavy boots on the terrazzo floor was almost as hypnotic as the ticking of a clock. Every pass he made down the hall took exactly ten seconds, which was the only way Trowa had to keep track of the time that passed.

He could still remember the happy smile that had been on Quatre's face when he had informed him and Duo that Heero wanted to tag along for their night of boozing. _'Quatre was looking forward to the four of us going out tonight... And I think Heero was too...'_

Trowa knew by the look of anger on his face that Heero was blaming himself for this. He had managed to stay calm long enough to ensure that Relena and the medics got out of the concert hall safely. But the moment they were gone Heero's fist had an abrupt encounter with the back window of one of the preventer vans parked out back. If they didn't need the sniper's corpse for evidence then Trowa was certain Heero would have put his boot through the bastard's cracked head. All that despite the fact that he wasn't head of the security detail.

That led him to turn his gaze to the man who was. To Trowa's surprise, Zechs was sitting on the floor several feet away from the rest of them. His back was pressed against the wall, and his head was tilted up towards the florescent lights that were humming softly above them. His paler than usual face had a distant look of exhaustion, and his hands and clothes were still covered with Quatre's drying blood.

He knew that if Zechs hadn't been quick to attempt to stop the bleeding that the Arabian would have bled to death long before Sally reached him. It confused him, but somehow it made sense. _'Zechs was on the verge of tears when Quatre wouldn't answer him... Despite everything he's done to him... It's almost like Zechs loves him just as much as he hates him...'_ Trowa thought with a faint frown.

As if the blonde man had somehow heard his thoughts, Zechs met Trowa's analyzing gaze. There forest green met ice blue for a long tense moment. Zechs knew that Trowa worked closely together with Quatre throughout the war. The pair could come up with a plan and act on it without saying a single word between them. They seemed to have a silent code between them. Every gesture and glance a secret word or phrase. Zechs only discovered how crafty the silence could be when Quatre effortlessly signaled the proper contingency plan on a stage in front of thousands of people.

Any time he had attacked Quatre with his cruel remarks Trowa and Duo were the first ones to always either defend Quatre or hold the Arabian back from lashing out. They were the ones that always interfered with what he had wanted from Quatre, and briefly he had considered attacking them instead. Quatre had threatened him with indifference, so his plan had been to attack someone close to him instead. But now as he looked on at the way Trowa was holding protectively to the grief stricken Duo, Zechs felt as if he was the worst bastard to ever live.

The image of that blood stained smile flashed within his mind, which made Zechs wince inwardly. _'This is my fault... He's in here because of me... And Trowa knows it... They all do...'_

Unable to take that steady tear filled gaze that Trowa had fixed on him, Zechs looked away and slowly forced himself to stand. The motion caught everyone's attention, but Zechs made no move to acknowledge any of their curious stares. He couldn't take the cramped space anymore, so he turned and moved down the corridor.

"... He'll live..."

As he disappeared past the double doors at the end of the hall, everyone found themselves taking a bit of comfort from that calm voice. Noin scrubbed at her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath to calm herself. "If Zechs believes it.. Then we all should..." she mumbled as she gave a grateful smile to Wufei for his support.

The Chinese man smiled in return. "I agree... We're not going to get anything accomplished just standing here... Une's probably overwhelmed with both Quatre's sisters and the Maguanacs all piling into the hospital... Maybe we should help her calm them down..."

"I'll go..." Duo finally pulled away from Trowa's comforting embrace and wiped his remaining tears on his sleeve. "I know Rashid and the guys pretty well.. Might help them if I go down there to talk to them.. But I wanna wait until Sal tells us something..."

Trowa readily nodded to that. "I'll go with you.. I know several of Quatre's eldest sisters... It might be best if the two of us relay any sort of news to them."

"Perhaps the rest of us should return to HQ once we're told his status..." Heero muttered as he stopped his pacing abruptly. He looked to Noin and Wufei as he continued. "We still have one member of the Beta team unaccounted for... We need to locate her to confirm if she was attacked or if she was in on the assassination attempt."

Both Wufei and Noin sobered quickly when they were reminded of that. "You're right... The rest of the teams may have been able to gather some more information on those two. We'll head back to HQ as soon as..." Wufei trailed off when he saw the doors to the operating room swing open.

Behind the door Sally was in blue blood stained scrubs and was taking off the cap that she had used to hold back her hair. She looked up to see the tense expectant faces lining the corridor, and the first thing she did was give a weary smile. "We were able to stop the bleeding..."

The five of them all let out the breath they had been holding on hearing those words. Quatre was still alive, just like Zechs had said.

Once he was able to calm himself Duo was quick to pull away from Trowa and faced the doctor fully. "How is he...? What all happened...?" he asked, fear still obvious in his eyes.

Sally took a deep breath and rubbed lightly at the back of her neck as she thought over what all they had discovered on the operating table. "The shot went in at an angle through his body and nicked his liver, stomach, and his right kidney before it exited through his back. Quatre's incredibly lucky. If it had been centimeter further in any direction it would have killed him." she informed them to let them know just how close they were to losing him.

Knowing that it had been that close made a heavy feeling in the pit of their stomachs. "What's the over all damage...?" Trowa asked as he moved to stand next to Duo.

"There was no serious damage to his liver. The way the bullet grazed his stomach burst a blood vessel inside it, so that explains why he was vomiting blood..." Her expression fell slightly as she forced herself to continue. "But the bullet tore through enough of his right kidney to give us all concern. We did what we could to save it, but we may need to remove it and transplant another one since the shock may overwhelm the left one. Hopefully the medication we put in his IV will keep that from happening."

"What if it doesn't work...?" Duo asked quickly.

"I'm going to have his sisters tested to see who would be a good match for him just in case." Sally paused for a moment to pinch the bridge of her nose and collect her thoughts. "Quatre's always been a fast healer, but his body is still in a light state of shock. He's still critical right now, but the immediate threat is over. He'll need a blood transfusion, but he's O positive, and this hospital is low on that type. Do any of you know anyone that has that blood type?"

"Zechs is O positive..." Noin called out as she pulled away from Wufei.

That news left Sally feeling torn, but she shoved her personal feelings aside. "Could you find him and see if he'll be willing to donate at least a pint?"

Noin nodded. "I'll go look for him now."

"Me and Tro can go ask his sisters and the Maguanacs too. We're gonna go out to the main lobby and let them know how he's doin anyway." Duo added as he began tugging on Trowa's jacket sleeve to get him moving.

"Let them know I need to check them for donor matches just in case." Sally called out and got a thumbs up in reply from Duo.

When those two and Noin left the corridor Heero faced Sally and gave her a serious glare. "Now what's the real damage, Sally...?" he asked, which made Wufei's eyes widen in surprise.

"Real damage...?" he repeated slowly.

Not surprised Heero knew she was holding back, Sally bowed her head and wrung her hands in the blue cap she held. "We won't know until he wakes up... If he wakes up.. A great deal of the body's blood is filtered through the kidneys... Any injury to them can cause a person to bleed to death quickly... Quatre lost a lot of blood... But I'm hoping Zechs' quick work to stop the blood flow was enough to spare him from any brain damage.." she whispered solemnly.

The thought of their brilliant tactician surviving only to be a vegetable made Wufei's heart thud hard in his chest. "And if it wasn't...?" he asked hesitantly.

"It's better not to think about that now, Wufei..." Heero stated firmly. "We'll wait for Noin to return, then we'll go to HQ and hunt the bastards responsible for this down."

Understanding Heero's refusal to give the possibility thought in order to focus on the culprits, Wufei frowned and nodded quickly. "Agreed..."

This wasn't going to go unpunished.

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The first place Noin thought to look for the emotionally distant blonde was the roof. For some reason it was the main place Zechs would retreat to whenever he was trying to think. Which made it incredibly convenient if she needed to look for him. It also comforted her to know she could at least predict one thing about the emotionally distant man. _'Please let him be there this time...'_

The moment she left the stair well and the metal door that led to the roof she immediately spotted him leaning against the chainlink fence that encircled the rooftop. His long pale fingers gripped at the links tightly, and it looked as if he was trembling in the fading evening light.

This left her hesitant to approach him, but she had to face him for Quatre's sake. "Zechs...?"

"Is he still alive..?" Zechs asked quietly.

Startled by the almost soft spoken question, Noin smiled sadly as she moved to stand behind him. "Yeah... He's still critical, but he's alive..."

When she saw the tension visibly melt from him as his shoulders slumped forward she became confused. She slowly reached out and placed a hand on his left shoulder. "Zechs... I don't understand... Yesterday you told me that you hated Quatre... Why did you try so hard to save him...? It looked like you were trying to protect him when the medics finally showed..." She could still remember the protective embrace Zechs had the Arabian locked in when she and Sally finally reached the stage. _'He looked so devastated...'_

"Heh.. Quatre asked me the same question before he passed out... Like I told him, just because I hate him doesn't mean I want to see him dead..." Zechs repeated as he finally released the fence and turned to look at the woman behind him.

Noin gasped softly when she saw the tears that were streaming down from the bloodshot blue eyes. "Zechs... What's going on...? I... I've never seen you cry before..." She had to reach out and touch the flushed cheek just to see if they were real.

Zechs leaned into the touch slightly and let his eyes drift closed. "This is the first time I've ever had reason to... I almost lost the last shred of my past today..." he admitted quietly.

"The last shred of your past...?" Noin frowned deeply and had Zechs look into her eyes. When the still crying eyes focused on her she frowned deeply. "I want the truth, Zechs.. What's all this about..? What does Quatre have to do with your past?"

Now that it was out Zechs knew there was no sense in pretending any further. "I made a deal with Quatre... That if he lived I would tell him why I hated him... I guess I might as well tell you now..." He pulled away slightly and wiped at his eyes before he began. "Not many know this... But back before I was born my father and Quatre's were close friends... Almost like Quatre and Duo are now..."

Getting a bit apprehensive about what was about to be confessed, Noin took a slight step back. "Really...? I never knew they even met..."

The blonde head nodded, but he soon turned his attention to the purple and orange clouds that streaked across the sky. "Yeah... But all that changed when they fell in love with the same woman... My mother... They fought over her for fun at first, but my father took it more seriously as time passed... Quatre's father finally backed down when he saw how serious it had gotten and was even best man at the wedding... He was supposedly my godfather when I was born..."

"Your godfather...?" Noin repeated in surprise. "Why haven't you mentioned this before...?"

Zechs shrugged faintly as his first answer. "My father changed shortly after I was born..."

Not liking the faint edge to his voice, Noin frowned slightly. "Changed how...?"

"He became possessive... Demanded perfection from me even when I was a small child..." Just thinking of his father booming voice shouting at him when he was barely old enough to understand made him shudder, but he focused on continuing his tale. "It got to the point father drove Quatre's father away when his arrogance got the better of him... I still remember hearing them arguing in my father's study when I was about four... They were both so angry that it scared me... Quatre's father practically kicked down the study's door and said that my father would rot in hell for what he had done... He never came back."

"Quatre's dad said that in front of you...?" Noin whispered in alarm.

The blonde head nodded as a deep sigh left him. "Yeah.. I can't be for certain, but I think Quatre's father was having an affair with my mother... It's the only thing I can think of that makes sense... After that argument father became a monster towards my mother..."

Now clutching lightly at her own arms, Noin wasn't certain if she wanted to hear any more. "He abused her...?" It was almost too much to process. King Peacecraft? A beacon of peace secretly abusing his own family?

"He never hit her, but he was constantly degrading her and mocking her every misstep..." Zechs clenched his fists as the memories began to choke him. "And... And she always took it... She either smiled and apologized or cringed back in fear... She was always so terrified of him..."

"Psychological abuse is always more painful than physical..." Noin mumbled. "She never did anything about it...?"

Zechs readily shook his head. "She was too scared to even consider it. She never fought... Except for one time..." A faint smile appeared on his face as he recalled the day. "I was only about five or six years old, but I still remember it... My father was calling her the most horrible things... Mocked her fallen noble family from Germany, and kept telling her that if he hadn't been so benevolent as to marry her then she would have wound up pennyless in a brothel..."

It always hurt him recalling those words, but he took a deep breath and forced himself to continue. "I thought she was about to cry again when she suddenly faced him down.. She stood so much taller, and her eyes seemed to glow with this fiery look of defiance... She finally told him off... Called him everything imaginable and finally put him in his place... She was so beautiful and strong in that one moment... Then she disappeared..."

"Disappeared...?" Noin repeated in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Zechs shrugged slightly. "After she left the room I never saw her again... Father told me she committed suicide, but I always thought that he must have murdered her... Done something to her at least." he muttered, running a still blood stained hand through his hair.

Noin's eyes widened. "Then Relena...?"

"She's my half sister, but she doesn't know it."

That information actually made sense. "I... I did wonder why the two of you didn't look alike..." A frown formed when something occurred to her. "But what does any of that have to do with Quatre...?"

Tensing at the inevitable question, Zechs forced himself to answer. "My father always hated that Quatre's father had genetically engineered children made for him.. But he became furious when he saw Quatre had been born..."

"Why...?"

"He told me that Quatre's father engineered the boy to look similar to my mother to get revenge against him..." Zechs finally admitted. "To taunt the both of us... And he pushed that idea so far into my head that my anger towards Quatre is automatic... I can't control it..." he whispered almost shamefully.

Those words instantly cleared up a great deal of confusion, but it didn't answer one thing. "But why did you save him if you were taught to hate him...?"

"It's because he does look like her!" Zechs said sharply. He clutched lightly at his long hair as the Arabian's face hovered in his mind. "Eyes, hair, face, skin.. All of it looks exactly like her... I couldn't bring myself to do anything that would cause him real harm..."

"Zechs, you have been harming him!" the woman pointed out quickly. "All those horrible things you say to him hurts just as badly as when your father did it to your mother!"

Hearing that made a weak forced laugh escape Zechs' lips. "I know... That's the point, Noin... That's the entire point..."

"Zechs, that doesn't make any sense..."

"You don't understand!" Zechs snapped.

Growling softly, Noin moved forward and gripped tightly at the man's broad shoulders. "Then make me understand!"

He wanted to be angry at this, but Zechs knew he couldn't. He was stalling from giving his true reason, and he knew he had to confess now before he felt too cornered. _'If I can't tell Noin there's no way I'd be able to confess to Quatre...'_

His eyes closed tightly as he fought through his frustration to form the words he needed to say. "When I finally met Quatre... I realized that while he looks like my mother, I look like my father..." He trailed off for a moment when he finally admitted it out loud. Now that he had started, the rest of his words began tumbling from his lips much easier. "The reason I'm so horrible to him... The reason that I mock and demean him just like my father did to my mother... It's because I know Quatre will always fight back..."

Noin's frown quickly turned into confused concern when he saw more tears falling from Zechs' closed eyes. "Zechs...?"

Zechs was quick to shake his head as he pulled Noin's hands off his shoulders. "Let me finish..." He took another breath to calm himself before he opened his eyes to focus on the woman watching him warily. "It's that look he gets in his eyes... And that strength that's always in his stance... It looks exactly like my mother did when she finally stood up to my father.. Seeing that fire that lights up Quatre's eyes... It's like I'm giving my mother another chance to fight back..."

When she finally understood a sympathetic look fell over Noin's face. "So that's why you were so devastated... Seeing him like that... You felt like you were losing your mother all over again..."

"It's not just that..." Zechs dropped his gaze to the dark red smears on his hands, and his stomach felt like it was about to implode with his disgust. "This is all my fault... I ignored Quatre when he wanted tighter security... I laughed at him and taunted him... But when I was holding onto him after he had been shot.. He.. He was apologizing to me... Begging me to tell him what he had done wrong to me to have earned my hatred..."

"But he didn't do anything.." Noin whispered, now realizing the heartache that Zechs was going through.

"Exactly... If anything happens to him... If he dies.. His last thoughts would be thinking he had done something horrible to me... And I'll be the one responsible for his death..."

"Hey, cut that out right now." Noin quickly reached out and took hold of his trembling hands. "He's not going to die... Look at me..." She waited until those pain filled eyes locked onto her and smiled gently. "You said it yourself, Zechs.. Quatre's a fighter... He didn't make it this far just to be taken out by some random sniper..." She held on tighter to his hands to make sure she had attention. "He's going to recover, and you'll tell him the truth just like you told me. Quatre will forgive you then you both will move on."

Zechs frowned at how confident she sounded. "You think he'll forgive me just like that...? After everything I've done to him...?"

Noin's smile brightened as she nodded without hesitation. "You don't know Quatre as well as you think you do... You're the only reason he's still alive, Zechs... I think that in itself will prove to him how important he is to you..."

He hadn't thought of it like that before, but now that Noin had said it, Zechs couldn't deny it. _'He.. He is important to me... No matter what father told me... I couldn't let him die...' _His mind thought back to that tired smile that had been on those blood covered lips, and couldn't stop his own lips twitching upward. "Perhaps... He smiled at me when he saw me at his side... I don't think he's ever looked at me like that before..."

"Hm.. Sounds like to me he may have already forgiven you..." She reached out with her right hand to gently brush the tears off his flushed cheeks. She then cupped his face and remembered what she had been sent out for to begin with. "You can start to make things up to him by helping him now... He needs a blood transfusion, and you have the same blood type... He needs you, Zechs..." she told him with her encouraging smile intact.

Although he was hesitant, Zechs forced himself to nod and gripped firmly at the smaller hand still holding on to his. "Alright..." he whispered before he was pulled back towards the stairs.

As he was led down the stair well, Zechs slowly felt his thoughts begin to clear. He had been catering to his father's wishes all this time by taking his father's anger out on a child that had done nothing. Although Quatre was no longer a child, Zechs had let that programmed anger turn into a hatred for something that the Arabian had no control over.

'_He doesn't even know what our fathers had done... I can't let this continue... It's just an endless cycle of hatred that my father started.. And I've been passing it on towards Quatre... This has got to stop, or I'll run the risk of driving him away just like my father did to my mother and his father... I can't let myself turn into my father...'_

That was probably what terrified him the most. The fact that he had been acting exactly like his hypocrite of a father, and his victim was practically a carbon copy of his mother. _'But it's stopping now... I can make amends for everything my father has done... I couldn't save my mother... At least I can still save him...'_

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TBC

Hm...

Things are getting interesting.

Later


	5. Father lied to everyone

Wahh! New chapter up!

I'll skip the random comments and let you get to it.

Enjoy!

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Chapter 5

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A day had passed since Quatre was officially taken from the ICU to a normal hospital room. He was still in serious condition, but the immanent threat had passed. Everyone was relieved that he was going to pull through, but were still anxiously awaiting him to wake up from a light coma he had slipped into. It was nothing serious, and Sally made sure to inform them that there was brain activity. His body just shut down in order to heal itself.

So much happened over the course of the two weeks that Quatre had spent in the hospital. Five of the maguanacs had the same type O blood that Quatre needed, including the behemoth Rashid. And all of Quatre's 28 sisters readily lined up when Sally needed to test them as a possible donor incase the wounded kidney failed.

From this tragedy, Quatre's sisters readily found comfort from the forty battle hardened men. They did everything in their power to keep their hopes up from getting them whatever they needed to making them laugh with wild tales of things that Quatre had done within their ranks.

The hospital waiting room was brimming with laughter and good feelings as Auda and Abdul were in the midst of another story.

"Ya remember that one time back when he was fifteen we were going into a city for supplies for our camp?" Auda asked the man with the sunglasses.

Abdul abruptly choked on his sip from his water bottle and let out a bark of laughter. "Do I ever, that rotten brat!" he snickered. "I'll tell this one..." Getting up from his seat on a waiting room couch, Abdul adjusted his ever-present sunglasses as he began. "So we were running low on everything, and Rashid sent me and Auda out to get supplies from a near by city. Quatre suddenly wanted to tag along so we were like sure. What would be the harm in that?"

"The little innocent lookin bastard.." Auda chuckled lightly.

Ignoring his partner in crime, Abdul continued. "Anyway when we got there we found out that all the equipment depots were at the other side of the city, which was a good five miles away. We didn't feel like walkin all that, so Quatre pointed out that a train was about to come by on the tracks we were next to. If there was an open car we could hitch a ride."

"Quatre did train hopping?!" one of Quatre's younger sisters asked in alarm.

"He was acting like a pro at it!" Auda laughed. "When he spotted an open empty car he just hopped right into it like it was nothing."

"Yeah, Auda here almost fell under the wheels 'cause his fat ass slowed him down." Abdul snickered.

Auda glared at his partner and promptly smacked the fez off his head. "Shaddup! Anyway, it was pretty nice, we were all just sitting around in the car watching everything go by, then after a few minutes the train stopped to wait for a switch over. We decided that it was close enough to our destination, so we hopped off."

"Yeah, right in front of five cops leaving a coffee shop." Abdul added sarcastically.

"Ha! You got caught?!" another of the eager women asked.

"Me and Abdul did. Ya see when the cops were putting us in hand cuffs Quatre had climbed out of the train car and snuck away to act like he was watching from the side walk."

"Little bastard.." Abdul grunted. "But the best part was when the cops spotted him. They went over to him and asked if he had hopped off the train too..."

Auda began snickering and finished. "He looked right into their eyes, blinked innocently and said 'I'm sorry, officers, but do I really look like someone that would hop a train...?'"

"And the cops said no! They carted our asses off to jail and Quatre even had the gall to grin and wave at us when we were loaded into the cop car!" Abdul cackled.

Duo and Trowa both were staring in alarm as the men and women that filled the room began laughing. "Q really let you go ta jail?!"

"Heh, just until the day patrol switched off for the night beat. Then he came back and bailed us out cause he knew no one would recognize him." Auda chuckled. "But then after we were out he told us that next time we're doing something clearly illegal we should probably look before we leap."

"Yeah, we got our asses in trouble, and Quatre bailed us out. That's how it always was back then, right Captain?!" Abdul asked the quiet giant standing in the far corner of the waiting room.

All eyes turned to the large man, and Rashid frowned as a heavy sigh left him. "As much as it embarrasses me to say, yes... That was how it always was... Even after the war he fought for all our rights as test tube creations..." When everyone in the room bowed their heads solemnly at being reminded of what they were, Rashid suddenly found himself chuckling. "So now I propose that we stay here and bail his ass out of the trouble he seems to have gotten himself into this time."

On hearing that every man and women began smiling happily and cheering for the words.

"Yeah! We won't leave until our brother's back on his feet!" one of the women called out.

"For our brother!" another of the maguanacs seconded readily.

As they continued to lift each other's spirits, Zechs watched quietly from them hallway that led to Quatre's new room. He never knew how much Quatre meant to so many people. There was barely any room to get by in the rather large waiting area that was packed with Quatre's 'family'. It left him wondering how he could have harbored so much hatred for someone that could touch so many lives.

Before he could really think about it further suddenly two of the women approached him. They both had short curly black hair and rather dark complexions with similar features. _'Must be twins.._.'he figured silently. "Do you need something...?" he asked lightly when they were standing in front of him. He didn't like the serious glares in their deep brown eyes. _'Why do they look pissed at me...?'_

"Are you Milliardo Peacecraft...?" the twin wearing blue sun dress asked on a whisper.

His pale eyes narrowing at the name, Zechs pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and turned away. "I'm afraid you got the wrong guy.. He's dead..." he muttered, walking away to end the conversation before it could begin.

A dark hand shot out and gripped firmly at the retreating shoulder. "Please don't turn away from us..." a soft voice stated, but it had a definite edge to it.

The strange tone caused Zechs to glance back to see that, while the twin that had grabbed him was all but scowling at him, the one in the blue dress looked on the brink of tears. The scowling woman was wearing a red tank top and black gauchos, but her delicate appearance was contrasted by her clearly angered expression. But he ignored it. "Look, I don't feel like dealing with anyone right now..." Zechs grunted as he stiffly shrugged off the delicate hand.

"But you need to listen to us..." the meeker of the two called out on a whimper. "If Quatre takes a turn for the worse you're the only one that will be able to help him..."

Freezing at the strange words, Zechs looked over his shoulder. When he saw her fists clenched and trembling he knew that this woman would make a scene if he tempted her. "What are you talking about...?" he questioned slowly.

"There's something important that we must discuss with you..." The irritated woman glanced over her shoulder briefly to make sure that no one was approaching, then leaned in closer to speak in a lower tone. "With you and Doctor Po before she puts the pieces together..."

Those cryptic words made the man's pale eyes narrow in suspicion. "Pieces...? You're not making any sense... What do you want?" he asked flatly. The way their eyes seemed to stare straight through him was unnerving, but he kept the annoyed expression on his face.

"Take us to Doctor Po and we'll explain everything..."

Finding it very unsettling that they spoke at the exact same time, Zechs pulled away from them and snorted softly. "If it will get you to leave me alone... She should be checking on Quatre's vitals right now..." Without sparing them another glance, he started down the hall towards Quatre's room at the end of the corridor.

At the door he knocked lightly, and opened it when he heard Sally's muffled consent. Zechs then stepped aside to let the women enter first. "Sally, these two needed to talk with you." he called out to the doctor.

Looking up from Quatre's chart, Sally was surprised to see Quatre's two eldest sisters appearing so grim. "Jade? Lana? What's wrong...?" she asked in concern.

"We think you already know, Doctor..." Lana stated quietly, her head bowed in what appeared to be shame.

Jade readily nodded as she wrapped an arm around her sister in a comforting gesture. "We're sure that you're suspicious of your donor search findings by now..."

Sally's eyes grew wide for a moment before they narrowed in the beginnings of a frown. "So.. My thoughts are correct then...?"

When they nodded and Sally's expression darkened, Zechs became confused and irritated. "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on? What have you found, Sally? And why do you two need to talk to me?" the blonde man demanded sharply.

A deep sigh left the doctor as she replaced the chart at the foot of Quatre's bed. "I began testing possible donors for Quatre..." Sally glanced towards Zechs with a clearly troubled expression on her normally calm face. "So far every single one of his sisters are no where close to even an acceptable match... Which is unheard of when it comes to siblings.." She quickly turned a glare towards the two women holding one another near the bed. "It left me with one conclusion..."

Zechs' eyes grew wide as he looked to the blonde asleep on the bed. His gaze shot back to the twins who were looking at the wounded figure sadly. Now that he really began thinking about it he thought back to all the women that were out in the waiting room. _'He.. He doesn't look like any of his sisters...'_ The pieces clicked together. "You mean Quatre isn't your brother...?"

"In our hearts he is.." Lana whispered.

"But he is not our flesh and blood..." Jade looked straight into the wide blue eyes. "He's yours..."

Those two simple words sent Zechs reeling backwards until his back hit the door. "What? No.. No, you're insane... He's a test tube child." he stated, but his voice cracked slightly in his shock. It was absurd. There was just no way.

Lana shook her head as she hesitantly placed her hand over the pale one that was resting on the white sheets. "Quatre was led to believe that as well... But he was born as a normal human... His mother was a duchess of a small dying royal family in Europe.. Germany I believe... Her name was Catherine... She was a beautiful woman..." She looked to her brother's pale face and smiled sadly. "He looks exactly like her... Our father loved her dearly... Enough to take her second born son and raise him as his own..."

"22 years ago she ran away from the abusive relationship she had with Quatre's real father. She went to the only one she knew she could trust, our own father." Jade continued as she held tighter to her twin. "They enjoyed 6 months together happily, but then the complications of giving birth on the colonies took her away from us and left Quatre in her place. We never told him... Father swore us and Irai to secrecy unless it was absolutely necessary..."

Jade suddenly released Lana and took a step towards Zechs, a serious glare on her dark face. "Quatre is your brother, Milliardo... Deny it all you want, but you know in your heart that he is... You've always known, no matter what your father told you..."

Before Zechs could respond Lana moved to her twin's side and mirrored the glare. "You can argue with us later... Let Doctor Po perform the DNA tests so we can move past this... You're the only one that can help him should anything happen!"

Sally was standing completely bewildered as she instantly looked between the sleeping Quatre and the blonde man looking ready to bolt at the door. "You... You do look similar... You and Quatre are brothers...? You never suspected...?"

Zechs was overwhelmed with this new information. He fisted his hands in his long hair and closed his eyes tightly. "No... Father said he was a copy... Made to look like my mother!" he insisted quickly.

The twins both became angered at the denial the man insisted on. "If our father was that vindictive why would he make a male child that looked like your mother?" Jade asked sharply.

"Why not simply make an identical female?" Lana said instantly after.

"No.. It's not true... He's a copy..." Zechs muttered stubbornly. This was just too much, but it made sense. Why make a male child? "Father taught me to hate the cheap copy of my mother..." he whispered as he tried to work through his dismay.

"Your father lied to you! He wanted you to hate Quatre as a way to continue his assault on your mother! Who ran away to protect her unborn child!" Lana snapped as frustrated tears bit at her eyes.

"How can you look at him and not see him for who he really is?!" Jade cried out. If it wasn't for the fact Lana was clinging to her arm she would have slapped the thick headed man. "Dammit, look at him! Your brother needs you!" she demanded as she held her trembling twin tightly.

When he heard those words Zechs' eyes snapped open. His gaze moved over to the peacefully resting figure on the bed, and in the pit of his chest he knew they were telling the truth. Those pale features and matching hair were so similar to his own. Their strengths, wits, and builds were nearly on par with one another.

There was just no way to refuse this. _'My... My brother...? Father lied to me...? Father... Father lied to everyone...'_ However the rest of him needed more time to deal with this. "I... I need to think about this.. I.. I need to go.." Before they could plead for him to stop he jerked the door open and all but ran out.

The twins tried to chase after him, making Sally dash out to stop them. "Jade! Lana! Wait!" As she ran from the room she glanced back at the blonde on the bed with a heart broken expression. "Quatre.. I'm so glad you didn't hear all of that..." she whispered to him before she left.

The moment the door closed a pair of aqua eyes snapped open.

Loud familiar voices had broken trough the numb darkness that Quatre had been floating in for what seemed like forever. But as he laid there in the silence he was desperately wishing that darkness would swallow him whole again. His eyes stared unblinkingly at the white tiled ceiling as tears steadily welled up and rolled heavily down the sides of his face.

'_I... I'm nothing but a lie...'_

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TBC

Oh dear..

Another plot twist already?

Poor Quatre..

Later!


	6. You're my brother

Let's see how things turn out, shall we?

Enjoy

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Chapter 6

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"My brother... He's my brother..."

It was the tenth time he said those words to himself, but it still sounded too surreal.

Instead of perching himself on the roof to mull over his problems, Zechs found himself leaning against the trunk of a large ash tree that was at the far corner of the hospital's parking lot. It was roughly a hundred yards away from the main entrance, and was quiet other than the light hum of traffic that passed through the lot. He had been tempted to just leave the area all together and return to his apartment to sleep off the shock.

But he couldn't. He couldn't bring himself to leave. Not after what he knew now.

So he opted to brood under the silent comfort of the only tree in the parking lot. His thoughts had been racing the moment he left Quatre's room, but that was only succeeding in giving him a massive headache. He had to force himself to stop and steadily try to break things down so he could address each subject calmly. To process the fact that his mother had not only succeeded in running away, but gave birth to another son before she died happily in the safe care of the other man that loved her.

Somehow the longer he thought about it to more it seemed to comfort him. His mother was able to die happy. He knew she had to be if she made it all the way to the Winner estate. He knew that the head of the Winner family took care of her because he knew how much he had loved her.

'_But she left me behind...' _That fact still bothered him somewhat.

Why was he left behind? He could have been spared the horror of watching his home burning to the ground. He could have avoided the fate of a soldier had his mother only taken him with her.

More than likely he and Quatre could have grown up together in a loving home under the care of the Winner family. They never would have been in the war. The lightning count wouldn't have existed. Treize probably wouldn't have succeeded in over throwing the Alliance. There wouldn't have been a White Fang. Operation meteor would have probably gone through with the original plan, and the Gundams would have been short one pilot if Quatre had grown up knowing the truth.

That led to the results of those changes flying through his head. The war would still be going. Noin would have died following Treize's orders to the letter. Une would still be a twisted brutal commander. Relena wouldn't have survived everything. Sally would still be an Alliance officer. And the gundam pilots would have never joined forces without Quatre, so their chances of survival would have been incredibly low.

'_If only mother had taken me with her... But how long would that happiness have lasted once the war hit its peak..? Would those Alliance pacifists have changed anything...? No... Treize would have still killed them without me. Maybe.. Maybe Treize could have won without me...?' _He didn't want to think that he was the sole reason for his former commander's downfall, but he certainly didn't do much to prevent it.

It bothered him to think of what his and Quatre's happiness would have cost from that one decision. So many people could have died, and the war wouldn't have ended. All from his mother simply taking him with her.

"Of course that's only one version... I could be completely wrong.." he muttered. Zechs knew that there were too many possibilities to think of. There was no point dwelling over what didn't happen.

So he focused on what did happen. His father had lied to him. Quatre's adopted father lied to him as well, but Master Winner erased any connection he had to the Peacecraft family. Quatre grew up in a nearly normal life style, but Zechs wasn't granted that luxury.

His mind wandered to how his father taught him to hate his own brother. Zechs knew he couldn't deny Quatre any longer. The pieces fit together too perfectly. No one else knew that King Peacecraft abused his wife other than Master Winner. He recalled the last heated argument that occurred between the two pacifists, and found himself wanting to know now more than ever what the head of the Winner family meant.

What had his father done?

What was the reason for all this madness?

What would force his mother to run away and leave him behind?

Why think to save Quatre and not him?

It made a twinge of jealously sting at his heart, but he immediately scolded himself for it. "None of this was Quatre's fault.. I can't blame him for everything anymore... If anything it was both our fathers.. They lied to us... They manipulated us... But why? Dammit, why did they treat us like puppets?"

Zechs was becoming irritated the longer he thought about it. It was taking all of his self control to not direct that anger towards his younger brother. "Father... You pushed this prejudice too well into me... I can't get angry without thinking it's Quatre's fault anymore..." he whispered. The shame he felt from admitting it was overwhelming. He was really trying to stop himself, but it was almost painful.

It was sinister, really. The more he worked through the truth the more Zechs finally understood just how twisted a man his father really was. "You wanted me to continue the abuse you dealt to mother by forcing me to abuse my younger brother... How could you...? Quatre is your son... Did you think that it was Winner's child...? Did you want me to abuse the Winner heir...?"

He knew he would never get an answer, but he asked the questions anyway. He had to attempt to solve them himself before he could even think of facing his long lost brother. One thing he knew was that were was no way to believe that Quatre and the head of the Winner family looked related. There wasn't a single feature even remotely similar.

"So father knew.... Father knew he was my full blooded brother... But why didn't I see it...? How can I explain why I hated him...? Do I still hate him?" he asked himself quietly.

Still finding no answers, Zechs let out a deep sigh. His gaze drifted up to the clouds that were lazily floating by in the clear blue sky. It was a nice late spring day, and it was so warm that Zechs was almost tempted to pull off his preventers jacket. He glanced at the right sleeve of his jacket and saw a few splotches of Quatre's blood still on the cuff.

How long had he stuck around the hospital? He couldn't remember if he had even returned to his apartment for the new clothes he was in. It made him wonder if he should return to HQ for a little while to check on how Noin and Heero were coming along with the investigations. It would give him time to clear his head and focus on something else.

Then there was Relena who was still trying to get security to approve of the rescheduled press conference she had promised before all this drama occurred.

"Shit.. I'm going to have to tell Relena that she's only my half sister... Wait..." Zechs suddenly frowned as a thought occurred to him. "That makes Quatre the rightful crown prince to the Sanc kingdom... What's left of it anyway... And there's our mother's royal blood to consider... Damn, how is he going to handle all this...?" His own reaction to the truth was running away to collect himself.

Now that he was thinking calmly he had no idea how the wounded and fragile state Quatre was in would handle such a traumatic blow. "To find out your entire life was a lie... He's completely human... He wasn't a lab project... That means.. He.. He was naturally a prodigy... He was placed through so much abuse and prejudice when he was a natural human all this time..."

He had little time to begin feeling sympathy for his younger brother when his cell phone suddenly began vibrating in his pocket. He fished it out, but was surprised when he saw the name on the display screen.

"What the..." He flipped it open and held it up to his ear. "What is it, Sally?"

-"Zechs! I need you to get back to the hospital now! Quatre's missing!"-

"Missing?!" Zechs barely said the word before he immediately took off towards the hospital entrance. "What do you mean?!"

-"He must have been awake and heard everything that was said earlier. I'm in his room now... His pillow is wet, so he had to be crying... He even took his IV and catheter out, but there's no sign of where he could have gone... Zechs, he shouldn't be moving at all! He could rupture something, then we really would have to do the transplant!"-

"Have you told any of the others yet?"

-"No, he's too upset to have that many people hunting him down. It would be best that you find him, Zechs. That way you can settle things between you. I figure once he comes to terms with you he'll be able to handle it with everyone else."-

Zechs had hoped to have more time to come to terms with himself first, but that couldn't be helped. He had a brother to look after. "Alright, Sally, I'm almost at the main entrance. I'll begin looking for him floor by floor. But if I can't find him in the hospital we'll have to tell the others."

-"I understand. I'll do my best to stall everyone until you call me. Please hurry. He must be in a great deal of physical pain by now."-

"Probably not as bad as he's hurting emotionally, Sally.. I'll call you when I've finished looking for him." He didn't bother to wait for a reply as he snapped his phone closed and replaced it in his pocket.

Just when he thought things were bad, Quatre had to find out the truth in the worst possible way. "And I called him a cheap copy.... Dammit.. What the hell am I going to say to him if I do find him...?"

He knew that if he was in his younger brother's situation the last person he would want to see would be the person that caused him nothing but torment for the past seven years. "I'm all he really has though... None of his adopted family can help him through this... Quatre probably feels betrayed by all of them... I know I would... I do..." he muttered as his pace towards the entrance slowed.

Quatre needed time to think. Just like he did. "Well.. If he's really my brother then the first place I should look is..." His head lifted towards the top of the building.

He abruptly stopped when he saw a solitary figure grasping at the chainlink fence around the roof looking straight down at him. The sight made a faint smirk form on his face. "Heh... Looks like he is my brother..."

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His breath was uneven and shaky as he forced himself to sit on of one of the large AC units on the rooftop. Having to lean heavily on his left hip, Quatre fought the urge to clutch at the bandages that were wrapped thick around his right side. It felt like his entire torso was on fire. Every brush against his skin felt like a punch, and he could feel every staple that held his skin together move with every breath he took. It was enough to make him choke back the blood laced bile that kept threatening to come out.

He felt sick, but not because he was moving barely two weeks after intensive surgery. He felt like his heart had been ripped out, and nothing was left but a gaping void.

His family.

His past.

His very birth.

"All a lie.... Why.. Why did they lie to me....?" Quatre lifted his head to look at the sky above. "You.. You let me be treated like a freak of nature... Like I was a monster created in a lab... You didn't even try to comfort me... All you said was that I had to be stronger..."

The utter indifference that his father dealt his abuse was what had made him so resentful to begin with. Now it seemed that it wasn't because he didn't care, but because he was hiding the truth from him. However that hidden truth seemed to deal more damage to his broken heart than the cold watchful eyes that his father kept over him.

But he couldn't be angry. Not with his other sisters. "No... Only Jade, Lana and Iria knew... The rest of them believe I'm their brother... They were lied to as well.. The truth wouldn't bother them... I suppose I shouldn't let it bother me... But it still hurts so fucking badly..." he mumbled to himself brokenly.

He had thought that being someone born from a lab gave him a special connection with the maguanacs as well, but it seemed as if that connection was all in his head. "No... No, they're my brothers.. No matter where I come from, they wouldn't reject me for this... We've been through too much... Fought beside one another... Risked everything to ensure everyone made it out alive... I'm a maguanac to them... That's all that matters..." he reasoned with himself to keep his emotions tempered.

Reasoning was the only thing he had left to keep himself from going into a complete breakdown. That quick tactical imagination was now trying to find the logic in why this had happened. The ways it developed, and perhaps what his father was thinking when he decided to keep his mother a secret from not only him, but from everyone involved. It made him wonder if it was under his mother's request, or if this was all his father's doing. In the end he knew he couldn't figure it out because he had no knowledge whatsoever of his mother.

That was another thing that bothered him. Jade and Lana hadn't divulged that much information about her. All he knew was that he looked like her, and she was abused before he was born. That wasn't a very detailed description of the person that supposedly brought him into the world. He briefly pondered if perhaps this was just his pain riddled mind producing hallucinations.

Maybe he was just hearing things in a post traumatic delirium. "Heh.. No.. Me denying it is the real delirium talking... Dammit.. I.. I can't handle this..." he finally admitted to himself.

It was too much. Everything he knew about himself was a work of fiction. He was a natural human. He had no specially engineered gifts. His sixth sense that he depended on and developed over the course of the war, his tactical genius, his abnormal physical endurance. All of it was his own. He wasn't a creation, he was simply a fluke.

His eyes narrowed when he thought of that. Now he was left in a bitter mood. "Great.. Either way, I'm still a freak... Which is less obnoxious? Being engineered to be beyond human abilities, or just being born that way?" he asked himself on a slight growl.

Thoughts of the torment he endured taunted him, but what made it worse was realizing that it didn't even apply to him. He suffered through it for nothing. "But... If I didn't... Who would have stood up for the others...? My sisters.. The Maguanacs... Did he not tell me so I wouldn't look at my family differently? So I could understand what they had to go through?" It made sense, but it still seemed too cruel.

His right hand reached up slowly and gripped at his hair tightly. "I don't understand... I.. I deserved the right to know about my own mother... Didn't I...? He could have told me she was his wife... I could have at least known she existed.... Would it have changed things that drastically?"

"Probably...."

His breath hitching at the deep voice, Quatre slowly glanced over his shoulder. "Wh-what to you want...?" he asked warily on sight of the expressionless pale face that was watching him.

The fear that he clearly saw in the aqua eyes made Zechs' chest tighten. He was the one causing that fear, and it tore into him so badly. Just how far had he carried out their father's will? "I want to finally talk with my brother..." he started quietly.

Those words made Quatre frown deeply, but he forced himself to turn away. "So you believe them...?"

"It's hard not to.... They knew things that they only could if they had met my mother... Our mother..." Zechs told him so they could both begin accepting it.

If Zechs now believed it that meant it had to be true. Quatre found himself slumping forward slightly as he let his right hand lightly settle over the bandages that covered his incisions. Even the faint touch hurt like hell, but he wanted it to hurt now. It was the only thing that let him know that this was really happening. "That's why you hated me....? Because you thought I was a cheap copy... A doll engineered to torment you...?"

Zechs bowed his head slightly when he heard the heartache in his brother's words. "That's what father told me... You weren't the only one that was lied to..." He took a few steps towards where the younger blonde sat. "I can't begin to know what you went through.. To be honest, I really don't want to... But... But the truth is that I was taught to hate you... From the moment you were born..."

"So.. It wasn't anything I did..." Quatre mumbled.

"No... You didn't do anything.. It was a prejudice that was forced on to me, but I have to admit I didn't try very hard to resist..." He stopped at the other side of the AC unit and looked on in concern at his brother's trembling back. "I... I wanted to hate you... I wanted to blame you for taking my mother away instead of father who drove her away... I never thought I would meet you, so it was easy to let it build over time..."

"And when you finally faced me you had somewhere to focus your anger..."

"Yeah..." Zechs felt horrid for having to admit this, but it had to be said. "Heero was probably the only thing keeping me from hunting you down back then... And when you defeated Dorothy I knew that I had made a mistake in not focusing my attention on you sooner..."

Quatre fiddled with the hem of the blue scrub top he was wearing and quietly thought over the older blonde's words. "Yet you followed my orders during the attack from the Barton foundation..." he pointed out quietly.

Remembering that night well, Zechs felt the knot in the pit of his stomach grow tighter. "That... That was so I could learn more about your tactics... Your thought process... I was hoping to find a way past them... I thought that perhaps if I worked along side you long enough I would figure out how to get the better of you..."

"All this time... You were trying to find a way to defeat me..." Quatre concluded, his mood growing darker by the second.

"Yes... And I still haven't... Seven years of studying you, and I never found anything..." Zechs rubbed at the back of his neck nervously. He wasn't liking where things were going in this conversation. He needed to divert it somehow. It was then that he noticed that Quatre was wearing a set of scrubs. "Where did you get the scrubs...?"

Quatre looked at the blue paper thin clothes he was in and couldn't stop the weak laugh that escaped him. "There's a storage closet right across the hall from my room... Wasn't that hard to get up here... Hard part was getting out of bed..."

Having to cringe at the thought of removing the catheter alone, Zechs found himself smirking and frowning at the same time. "You know you're not supposed to be moving around... Sally's terrified that you may rupture something."

The injured figure turned slightly to face his new found brother, wincing the entire time. Quatre was left breathing a bit harder when he finally looked into that cold gaze. After a silent moment he could see something else beyond the silent eyes. Fear?

"Would it be horrible of me to say that I could care less right now...?"

Zechs' expression softened as he carefully moved around the AC unit to stand in front his brother. "If anyone else heard you, probably.. But I understand... Still, you need to get back. Sally's afraid of your right kidney failing."

"So that shot was that bad, huh...?" Quatre mumbled as he pressed his hand a bit harder on his bandages.

"It grazed the lower edge of your liver, nicked part of your stomach, and tore through a small part of your kidney..." In truth Zechs was surprised that Quatre could move at all.

The news left Quatre very somber. "... That close to dying..?"

"Yeah... If you had lost anymore blood Sally thinks you would have suffered brain damage... You were very lucky..." Zechs pointed out calmly.

A rueful look formed on Quatre's face as he gave another laugh. "Heh.. I hear that a lot... Seem to have a knack for cheating death..." He trailed off as he looked into his brother's eyes. _'My brother... I... For some reason I can't bring myself to deny it...'_ "I guess I owe my life to you now...."

Zechs frowned deeply and shook his head. "No, Quatre.. You probably saved both Relena and myself when you took out that sniper..."

"Maybe... This means that Relena is my sister...?" Quatre asked, feeling very conflicted about that.

"Yes, but fortunately only a half sister. Father remarried barely a week after mother disappeared." Zechs' thoughts traveled to what he was pondering before he had been sent after his brother. "So really you're the true crown prince of the Sanc kingdom... Our mother was a duchess too, so you're entitled to something from her home village in Germany."

"Wait, I'm a prince now...?" Quatre questioned with a disbelieving look.

The raised eyebrow Quatre gave him made Zechs smirk. "Ironic, isn't it? Your codename's now the truth."

"More like disturbing.." Quatre muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "You have any idea the scandal it would cause if this was made public...?"

"You don't want anyone else to know...?" Zechs asked in obvious surprise.

Quatre didn't hesitate to shake his head. "If it's at all possible... The only ones that know are Jade, Lana, the two of us and Sally...." He looked up into the confused pale blue eyes and smiled sadly. "They may have lied to me, but I'm still part of the Winner family... I'm not a Peacecraft no matter what kind of blood runs through me... My family is downstairs waiting for me..." he stated firmly.

For some reason those words stung a great deal deeper than Zechs thought they would. _'I shouldn't be surprised... Compared to the family down stairs, myself and Relena must seem like a horrid trade off...' _

He turned away from the younger blonde and moved to the chainlink fence. "I understand... I saw how much they all care for you... Having twenty eight sisters and forty brothers is a very impressive family. I watched them all swear to not leave until you were well again."

That intrigued Quatre, but he was more puzzled by his brother's strange tone. "So they've stayed the entire time I've been here...?"

Zechs nodded as he stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets. "They've been telling each other stories about you to keep their spirits up. It was a bit surreal to see all those rugged men laughing with a group of classy looking women... Duo kept cracking up about how damn weird it looked." he added on a forced chuckle.

He didn't want to show how much this was hurting him. _'After everything I've done I don't deserve to be called brother by him...'_

"Heh... Duo would..." Quatre mused as he gingerly lowered himself off the AC unit. Having most of his weight on his left leg, Quatre looked at his brother's back silently as he came to a decision. "I've always thought of Duo and Trowa like brothers too... And even Lucrezia like a sister..."

"That so..." Zechs trailed off when he felt a light grip encircle his left wrist. He turned and was surprised that Quatre had crossed the ten feet from the AC unit to the fence without making a sound. But what really shocked him was the small smile on the pale face. "Quatre..?"

Quatre's tired smile twitched wider. "If I can put up with that many adopted siblings... I don't see how one more could hurt..."

His pale eyes open wide, Zechs was at a loss. When he saw the honesty behind the bright aqua gaze he could barely believe it. "But.. I.. I've treated you like garbage.. The things I said, I-"

"You saved my life...." Quatre cut in softly. "As far as I'm concerned the fact you're here now more than makes up for that... I know that you didn't want to hurt me every time we fought... You only provoked me. You never lashed out at me physically..." A frown formed over his brow as his gaze turned beseeching. "Why...? Why did you always hold yourself back from hurting me...?"

Zechs nearly winced at the question, but he knew he had to be honest. "Because you do look like mother... I couldn't bring myself to hurt you... You were right at the concert hall. I wanted you to hurt me..."

"But why?"

"Because it felt like I was letting her get a chance at revenge..." he admitted to those familiar aqua depths. "You get that same intense look in your eyes as she did... And I needed to see that.. I convinced myself that by getting you to hurt me it would make up for every time father hurt her." Zechs finally bowed his head as his shame threatened to choke him. "But if she was able to see the torment that I put you through..."

Quatre was quick to take hold of his hands firmly to keep him grounded. "Zechs, it's okay now... All of that is in the past. I don't blame you. Like you said, you were lied to as well..."

His eyes locked onto the pale hands that were so similar to his own. He couldn't stop himself from holding onto them in return. "You're going to forgive me... Just like that..." Zechs whispered.

"Of course... You're my brother..." Quatre released his brother's larger right hand and had Zechs looked him in his eyes. "I need you, Zechs... I need you to tell me about our parents.... About our mother... What she looked like... How her voice sounded... What she loved.... I have so many questions to ask you."

That honest smile kept growing brighter, so Zechs couldn't stop the one that appeared on his own face. "That's easy..." He placed his right hand atop Quatre's head and ruffled his short locks almost affectionately. "She was exactly like you... In just about every way."

Noticing the hints of brotherly attention, Quatre found himself feeling a bit stronger than he had before. At least emotionally.

The pain in his side suddenly spiked and he winced hard as he clutched lightly at his injury. "Dammit this sucks..." he grunted through his gritted teeth.

Quickly, Zechs moved to Quatre's left side and held onto him firmly. "I think that's enough brotherly bonding for now... I'm going to help you back to your room so Sally can make sure you didn't hurt yourself with your disappearing act." he stated, leaving no room for protest.

"Heh.. If you've woken up in a hospital half dead as many times as I have you'd understand my hesitance to stick around..." Quatre chuckled weakly as he leaned on Zechs' strong frame.

"Considering that you have roughly 70 people crawling around this building waiting to hear you're okay I think you can afford to relax a bit." Zechs pointed out dryly as he helped Quatre limp his way to the stairwell door. "But I promise we'll pick a day to trade obscure war stories. I'm sure we both have plenty of them." he added with a smirk.

The idea made Quatre smile despite the pain. "I'd like that..."

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TBC

What?

You thought those two patching things up would be the ending?

Ha!

This is just the beginning!

Anywho, that's it for this episode, folks!

Later!


	7. You'll love it

Short chapter for ya, and a rather disturbing one at that.

Let's see how things develop, shall we?

Enjoy~

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Chapter 7

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Seated quietly in front of the vanity table just outside her hotel room's bathroom, Relena was humming softly to herself as she ran a stiff brush through her dark blonde hair. There was a little smile of satisfaction on her lips as she kept her eyes focused on her reflection in front of her. She could hear the sounds of the wind picking up slightly outside the sliding glass doors to the balcony, but paid it no heed.

She was in a remarkably cheerful mood considering she witnessed the death of someone, and one of her colleagues shot down.

She began thinking of those expressive eyes growing wide in fear as Quatre tried desperately to keep in the blood that was escaping from his mouth. Then her own tears and screams of terror that had echoed through the stage. Everyone had seen her so distraught that Noin had to pull her away as Quatre was being tended to. Everyone saw her emotional pain for her fellow peace advocate.

"Poor little Quatre.... You've been holding everyone together... Fighting for peace for so long... Yet it wasn't enough..." A slow smirk formed over her lips as she kept picturing the total look of helplessness on that normally calm and in control face. "Looks like it's time for someone else to be the main figure head for peace.... I'm no longer going to work in your shadow...." she mused on a soft giggle.

At that moment her cell phone resting on the vanity table began ringing. She took hold of it and looked at the id screen. "Noin... Hm, probably going to update me..." She focused her thoughts and cleared her throat for a moment before she flipped her phone open and held it up to her ear. "Lucrezia? Do you have word on how Quatre's doing?" she asked on a choked and worried voice, still smiling at her reflection in the mirror.

-"Good news, Relena! Quatre's awake and moving around! Sally says all he needs is a few weeks to rest and he'll be able to go back on light office duty."- Noin's voice readily said quite happily.

Relena's blue eyes shot open as she nearly dropped the phone. "R-really...? That.. That's great! The shot didn't hurt him that much after all?" she asked, straining to not let her voice crack.

-"Well, he's still in a lot of pain, but Sally thinks that he won't need that emergency kidney transplant after all. He's in high spirits, and he's even laughing and joking around with everyone here."-

Her free hand gripped tightly at the edge of her vanity table until her knuckles turned white. "That sounds like our Quatre. I'll come by tomorrow and bring him some flowers."

-"You can come by, but you really shouldn't bother with any flowers."- Noin suddenly laughed.

Blue eyes quickly narrowed. "Why is that...?"

-"Because ever since the assassination attempt was made public knowledge people have been sending him flowers and get well presents by the truck loads. His room was starting to look like a jungle."-

Relena felt her anger steadily grow, and it was becoming difficult to keep the growl out of her voice. "But it was just announced on the news programs ten hours ago..."

-"I know! It's amazing how much his supporters love him! When he saw how much he was getting he asked the hospital staff to start taking them to other patients' rooms. He even had Duo and Trowa push him around in a wheelchair to deliver flowers and teddy bears personally to the children's hospital next door. I've never seen him so happy."-

The sound of glass suddenly breaking echoed with in hotel room.

-"Relena? Are you okay? What was that sound?"-

"Oh, nothing. I bumped into the vanity table and knocked a glass over, I'm fine..." Relena stated on a more forced tone as she looked at the broken and distorted figure now watching her from the cracked mirror.

-"Okay. That reminds me, we're still having trouble locating that missing woman from the security detail. No one seems to know anything about her. Zechs is near furious how she and that sniper could have infiltrated his teams without him knowing."-

"That is very distressing... But I'm sure she'll turn up somewhere." Relena muttered as her eyes glared at the brush resting atop the scattered mirror shards. "Well, since it sounds like it may be crowded at the hospital I'll wait until things calm down. Oh dear, I better clean up this glass before I step on something. Keep me updated when you can, Lucrezia."

-"I will. Good night, Relena."-

"Good night...." The moment she closed her phone a furious high pitched sound escaped her that sounded like the combination of a growl and a shriek of anger. She threw her phone to the carpet covered floor and immediately took to pacing the space between the door to her room and the one to her balcony. "That fucking cockroach! Why can't he die!? All that planning wasted!"

Her pink silk robe flew around in her wake at the speed of her frantic pacing. Even her face was becoming flushed from the vast irritation and fury that was boiling to the surface. "Why can't he see that he needs to become a martyr in order for our control to become absolute? In order for our supporters to join under one common goal... I need to gain control of his territories before we can hope to achieve peace... His death would bring billions together!"

Thoughts raced as she continued to plot a new path for her plan. Words tumbled from her lips that had no true meaning to them, and her hands were shaking with this latest failure hanging over her. "He has to die.. He has to die he has to die... It's the only way... Then... Hehehe.. Then... No more 'have you consulted with Quatre Winner?' or.. Or... 'How does Quatre Winner feel about this new proposal?!' Would Quatre do this? Would Quatre do that? Who fucking gives a shit?!"

She stiffly turned to her large king sized bed and nearly ran to it when she could barely keep herself together. She dropped down to her knees next to it and pulled out a unusually large attache case and sat it on her bed. She then pulled out a small gold key from her robe that she wore on a chain around her neck. After using the key to unlock the case she opened it wide and gazed at what was inside.

Quatre.

Pictures of the blonde Arabian filled the case, most of them looking as if they were taken through a scope without Quatre's knowledge. She let her fingers run along all the photographs of the perpetually smiling face, and nearly shuddered when her fingers came in contact with a lock of pale blonde hair that was hidden in the corner. Her fingers gently took hold of the lock of hair that was tied with a red ribbon, and let the silky stands caress her face. "Quatre.... You are the only one that understands... You'll be grateful for what I'm trying to do.... I know you will..."

Her right hand reached under the bed once more and her fingers soon clutched at a piece of cloth that was down there. She pulled it out to look at the dark blue jacket that a had two holes in it and two large dark stains. "Quatre... I'm sorry that I had to hurt you.. But you understand... It's for the good of the world..."

She grew warm the longer she stared at the blood stained jacket and soon was taking off her silk robe. Pulling the jacket on to her bare body, Relena let out a soft moan when she could smell Quatre's scent wrap around her. The silk lining of the jacket felt good against her heated skin as she let herself fall back onto the bed. Her mind pictured the lining as pale soft skin moving across her back and arms, leaving herself whimpering as she steadily became aroused.

Blindly reaching into the attache case, Relena pulled out a random picture and held it up to look at it. In the photo Quatre was at the edge of a pool wearing nothing but a pair of blue swim trunks and a pair of sunglasses perched atop his head. A brilliant smile was on his face as he was looking at something out of the camera's view. His pale hair caught the sunlight, making it glisten like a halo.

The longer Relena looked at the picture the faster her heart began beating. "Quatre.... You're so perfect... You deserve to become immortalized... Dying for your cause... Ensuring that the entire world remembers you as you are now... In your prime of youth and beauty..." A blissful smile formed on her lips as she pressed the photo against her bare chest. "That will be my gift to you, Quatre. I will turn you into a god of peace.... And I will watch over all who wish to bask in your wisdom and compassion."

She pulled the picture away and lightly traced the pale face with the lock of hair. "Hmm.. All you have to do is die, my love... But don't you worry.. I'll take care of that. Those idiots I hired couldn't do the job.... But that's okay..." She pulled the picture closer and giggled softly. "I'll prove my love... And do it myself... I'll make sure you have the most beautiful death possible." she whispered before placing a tender kiss to the smiling image.

"I promise, Quatre... You'll love it..."

_fjjfjfjfjfjfj_

TBC

Told you it was disturbing.

I made myself ill writing that scene...

*gags*

But now the enemy has shown her face!

Now what?

Guess you'll just hafta wait.

Later~


	8. Making up for lost time

Time for the next installment!

You already know who the bad guy is.

Now you guys get to watch while the others try to figure everything out.

Sorta like watching a horror film and you can see it coming.

"_She's in the fugly pink limo, you idiots!"_

Have fun yelling at the screen~

Enjoy

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Chapter 8

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Three weeks pass, and Quatre made a rather steady recovery. He was constantly visited by assorted family, including the maguanacs. Duo and Trowa were there almost the entire time to help him through anything he needed. All of them were very surprised by how well the blonde was handling the situation.

His eyes seemed brighter, and his spirits were higher than ever. The brilliant smile that he gave everyone seemed to be infectious. The entire hospital was brimming with good cheer as Quatre shared his get well gifts with everyone. In a weird way, it was as if the tragic experience made Quatre even more kind hearted, if that was possible.

Investigations were still being held into the incident, but everyone at the preventers still made time to visit the Arabian. Including Zechs.

Respecting his new found brother's wishes to keep it a secret, Zechs kept a distance during the day. At night Sally would run interference while the two blondes had time to talk. Their talks improved their overall relationship greatly. Zechs was quickly learning to let go of the animosity that he had harbored for is brother. In fact the more he talked with Quatre the more he realized how much they really had in common. Despite how they were separated, their paths became almost identical in the long run. Plus Quatre was easy to talk to, and had a very open mind.

Quatre was absolutely thrilled about everything Zechs told him about their mother. He knew that she had to be an amazingly kind woman just from the few things Zechs could tell him. He was still uneasy about their monster of a father, but if anything it only made him feel sympathy for what his brother had to endure. They were the same. They both grew up abused and ultimately isolated until they both decided to change their paths in life. It was amazing how well they could relate and see their bond building once a faint trust had formed.

It didn't seem like much time at all had passed before Quatre was finally released from the hospital. He was greeted by endless loving fanfare from associates and supporters. He even gave a brief little press statement thanking everyone for their concern. The incident seemed to boost Quatre's overall base of supporters by leaps and bounds. Not only were gifts pouring in from his normal territories, but now he was receiving well wishes from all across Europe, Asia, and Australia. However Quatre handled all the attention gracefully and made a point to turn attention to the press conference that Relena was finally able to reschedule. Not that it really had an effect.

The moment he returned to his office he was overwhelmed by the volume of cards and flowers that filled the normally large space. He had to ask for Duo and Trowa to help him yet again in distributing the flowers to all the employees of the Preventers organization.

Which led him to where he was now. He and the others spent the entire day delivering flowers until there was only one bouquet of red and white roses left.

"So you gonna keep those, Q?" Duo asked as he leaned against the door frame to Quatre's office.

Picking up the bouquet, Quatre smiled when he caught how fragrant they were. "I think I will..."

Trowa liked the smile that was on Quatre's face, but was curious. "Who are those from?"

Quatre searched for a card, and finally found a small one tucked inside the black ribbon that held the flowers together. He pulled it out and glanced over it. _'You'll always be our brother... Please forgive us someday...'_ When he read those words to himself Quatre's smile turned sad. "It's from Jade and Lana... They worry far too much. I'll need to talk with them soon." he said while slipping the card into his jacket pocket.

"Those two did kinda leave abruptly. Did something happen?" Duo asked in concern. The pair were rather fidgety the entire time Quatre was unconscious. It seemed odd that they would leave the moment they found their brother was okay.

He didn't want to lie to his closest friends, but Quatre truly didn't want anyone else to know. So he lied. "Those two never have handled situations like that easily. It's okay though." He sat the roses down and decided to change the subject. "So what are you two going to be doing tonight?"

"Dunno. I'm actually kinda tired. I'm thinkin just going straight home and to bed." Duo muttered as he rubbed at his eyes stubbornly.

"It's no wonder." Quatre chuckled. "You two have been my shadow the entire time. You're probably exhausted. Why don't you both go home and get some sleep?"

The thought of a night's rest now that Quatre was safe was appealing, but Trowa was still concerned. "What are you going to do?"

Quatre gestured to the stack of papers on his desk that he had been avoiding before he had gotten shot. "Try to catch up on paper work. Une has already been covering my portion of it. I want to start getting through it so things can get back to normal around here."

"Speaking of normal, I noticed that Zechs seems to have changed a lot... Did you two talk?" Duo suddenly asked. The question had been on his mind for a few weeks, so he figured it was a good time to spring it.

Expecting it, Quatre was ready with another half lie. "We did, actually. We worked through a lot of our differences, and I think we've reached an understanding." he stated quite happily.

"That's good. I think almost losing you placed things into perspective for him." Trowa commented while stuffing his hands in his pants pockets. "You would have been shocked at how badly it really affected him. I've never seen him look so frightened."

There was a faint glare behind Trowa's gaze that Quatre noticed. His friend knew something was up, but Trowa seemed to be willing to keep quiet about it. _'Heh.. Trowa always could tell when I'm lying..'_ Quatre mused silently. "I remember him picking me off the floor and trying to stop the bleeding... I was surprised, but I guess I was sort of relieved that he did care at some level... But anyway, all of that is in the past now. I think things will be better from now on between us." he added with that calm smile.

Trowa could tell that at least the last part had been true, so he decided to leave it at that. "Then all is well. Come on, Duo. You can give me a ride to my apartment." he stated rather than asked as he stepped out into the hall.

Duo was quick to quirk up an eyebrow. "Oh I can, huh? Gee, that would be really nice of me." His tone was oozing with sarcasm, which made Quatre snicker. "Call if you need anything, Q!" Duo said with a wave before he darted out after the Frenchman.

Chuckling softly, Quatre shook his head and let out a deep sigh. Everything had happened so quickly, but Quatre found himself at a better point in his life. He was still conflicted about his origins, but Zechs proved he was willing to help. The fact he wasn't a legit Winner didn't seem to sting as much. Now that he thought of it, most of his sisters didn't really look alike. It was very possible that they weren't related by blood either. However that was a puzzle that he had no intention of solving.

He turned his attention to the paperwork on his desk, but paused when he saw there was a small note on top of the stack. Picking up the piece of paper, he was surprised by the familiar writing he saw. "Don't worry about this, I've already finished everything for you.... Hope you feel better. Love, Lucrezia... Heh... I'm beginning to feel very spoiled..." He did like the loving attention. He wasn't about to deny that. The outpouring of support was very heart warming and humbling. "It's always good to know that so many believe in me..."

The scent of the roses on his desk made his thoughts drift back to his eldest sisters. He could easily say that he wasn't angry with them. Nor did he really blame them. "They could have kept up with the lies... But they spoke out because they were afraid for my life... They confessed for my sake... I can't be angry with them... I'll talk with them later..."

Taking the roses from his desk, Quatre decided that office work could wait. He quietly locked up everything and made his way to the stair well. Instead of going down, he started up the stairs. Climbing them was a bit more effort than he remembered with his still healing injuries, but after a few minutes he was pushing the roof access door open.

Like he expected, Zechs was standing at the small wall that bordered the roof looking out over the city that stretched around the preventers building. A smile twitched onto his lips as he stepped out onto the roof. "You would think that as often as we both like to go to the roof to think we would have caught one another before now." he called out on a chuckle.

Zechs found himself chuckling as well as he turned to face his brother. "It's probably best that we didn't. Two months ago we would have tried to shove each other off the edge."

"Heh, good point. So what brings you up here this time?" Quatre asked casually.

The older blonde was quiet for a moment as his younger brother approached him. Once Quatre was closer he decided to speak. "It still irritates me that those two were able to infiltrate my security detail..." A frustrated frown formed over his brow as he returned to looking over the city. "I've ran the entire day through my head a over and over since it happened... But I can't figure out how they were able to get past everyone... I mean I could readily admit that they slipped past me, but there were over 60 others there... None of them had ever seen those two before, and none of them thought anything suspicious about it..." He glanced to his left when Quatre stood beside him. "Don't you think that's a bit too coincidental...?"

That quickly sobered Quatre from his good mood. "Now that you put it into perspective, that is very disturbing..." he muttered.

"So I'm right in thinking that it's too strange to be a mere fluke?"

Quatre readily nodded. "It is too strange..." He placed his hand to his chin in thought. After a moment his gaze suddenly narrowed. "It makes me think that the only way they could have gotten in is if they had a contact already inside of the security detail..."

Zechs's expression darkened. "So there's the potential of a traitor within the preventers..."

"Either that or the local police..." He thought about it for a bit longer, but his eyes widened when a thought struck him. "Wait... Why did the sniper wait...?"

"Wait?" Zechs repeated curiously.

Quatre looked into his brother's pale eyes seriously. "The sniper waited until we were secluded back stage. There's no way that guy could have gotten past you or Trowa to get up to that catwalk. So he had to have been there the entire time."

Zechs quickly caught on. "The entire thing was a set up. The beta team found beaten was to force us to move into our contingency plan... And the missing woman must have taken out the rest of the beta team to serve as a distraction... But why...? Why wait for the two of us to have Relena back stage?"

That was the question that had both strategic minds puzzled. Quatre ran his free hand through his hair as he started to think out loud. "I suppose one reason could be that the goal wasn't for the audience to see her shot... That would prove her point of becoming a martyr... It doesn't make as deep of an impression if there aren't any witnesses..."

"Heh.. I don't know about that. From what I could tell everyone was worried sick about you when the press finally announced what happened." Zechs pointed out with a slight smirk.

Quatre hummed in amusement and lifted up the roses in his hand to look at them. "You have a point..." His smile returned as he pulled out one of the white roses and held it to his brother. "Here."

The confusion was apparent on Zechs' face as he took the rose. "What's this for?"

"You're the one that saved my life, Zechs. You deserve all the fanfare, not me."

The sentiment surprised him, but pleasantly so. It wasn't often he was given the credit for something good. "What about Sally?"

"I already gave her twelve bouquets and a kiss. I figured something simple would be better for you." Quatre stated smoothly.

Zechs chuckled and brought the rose close so he could smell the sweet scent. "Hm.. So far this whole brother thing hasn't been too bad... Do you really think we can keep it a secret from everyone...?"

The younger blonde shrugged carelessly. "My sisters did for 22 years.... I suppose it'll get out eventually... But we can worry about that later."

"True..." Zechs examined the white rose in his hand as he thought over everything. His mind kept drifting back to the irritating conundrum of the two infiltrators. "Quatre.... I think it would only be prudent of us if we considered both you and Relena as the potential targets for whatever those two had planned... At least until we've located the missing woman."

It made sense in a strategic stand point, but Quatre found himself frowning. "Really, if you think about it, all three of us could have been the target. It would explain why they waited until we were secluded back stage."

"That is a valid possibility. I guess we should all be on our guard then. Perhaps I should stay with Relena just in case..." Zechs muttered, not exactly thrilled by it.

Quatre laughed and placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "You're far braver than I am if you do. I can barely tolerate her anymore."

Zechs smirked. "So the fact she's your sister doesn't change that?"

"Not really. It just gives me one more reason not to just hit her over the head with something." Quatre quipped with a wink. He then lightly swatted the broader shoulder and motioned for the roof access door. "Come on, I feel like indulging in an obscene amount of alcohol."

"You know you shouldn't be drinking this soon after getting out of the hospital." Zechs readily chided.

Which made Quatre smirk. "You haven't been my brother for a month, and already you're nagging me."

"Hey, making up for lost time." Zechs shot back while messing up his little brother's hair.

Laughing at the now habitual gesture, Quatre swatted the hand away. "Okay, okay... How 'bout a minute amount of alcohol and dinner? Anywhere you like. I'll buy." he offered with a smile.

That offer made Zechs smile in return. "Sounds good."

_fjfjfjfjfj_

TBC

Oh the frustration as they slowly put the pieces together...

Imma lil sadist.

Teehee

Later~


	9. I'll patch him up

More suspicions fly as more pieces are found.

Enjoy~

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Chapter 9

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"I don't like this..."

Turning his attention from the map layouts on the computer monitor, Wufei became concerned when he saw the deep scowl on Heero's face. "What, Heero? Did you find something?"

Heero continued to flip through the hard copy of old mission reports as his frown deepened. "Possibly... Something seems very wrong..." He lifted his head to the large monitor Wufei was working in front of. "First tell me how your end is going."

Now worried, Wufei returned to his task for the moment. "I've gathered all the available maps on the area Relena designated as the place she wanted to hold the press conference. So far everything looks pretty simple. We really only have to block of three roads around the building."

"What about any underground systems? Sewers, basements, maintenance tunnels."

Wufei readily nodded. "I have everything here..." He was quick to pull up the charts and maps and displayed them side by side. "It shouldn't be any trouble to block these off as well. If need be we could place our own locks on some of the access points and place a team at each one." he explained as he had the computer highlight all possible points of interest.

On seeing how few there were Heero felt a little better about the situation. But it still wasn't enough. "We can't take any chances this time. I discussed it with Quatre and Zechs. They both think we should consider all three of them potential targets."

"That seems logical..." Wufei's eyes kept drifting to the thick file in Heero's hand. "What have you been looking through?"

Heero's frown returned as he regarded the file. "I had a nagging feeling that this seemed a bit familiar. So I did some digging in archives..." He looked to Wufei's dark eyes when he decided to share. "Do you remember that riot that happened two years ago on L-3?"

"How could I forget? Quatre was nearly trampled...." When he noticed the familiar victim Wufei trailed off.

Now that Wufei caught the connection, Heero continued. "That was just the beginning. Then there was that freak train derailment in Canada four months after that. Quatre was on that train escorting another diplomat. Six months after that Quatre was almost run down by a bus during a PR shoot on L-4. This year alone he's been in the midst of two more riots, a car bomb, and when the engine blew on that cruise ship. Every single incident Quatre barely made it out alive."

Once all the occurrences were listed out like that Wufei understood what Heero was saying. "So someone is targeting Quatre... But why? And who? You saw the response from the public. They absolutely adore him."

"Well, I also noticed that Relena had a connection to all of the incidents, but some of them are rather tenuous." After looking over one of Trowa's reports of having to carry Quatre to a hospital for a broken arm, Heero shook his head. "But she seems to make it through every one without a single scratch. It's like they want nothing to do with her, and focus only on Quatre."

Suspicious thoughts slowly worked their way into Wufei's mind, but he was hesitant to even consider them. "Heero... What if it's Relena's supporters that are doing this? They could possibly see Quatre as competition, so they're trying to dispose of him."

The idea made Heero's eyes widen briefly. "It is possible... I have noticed that the press and other political figures are looking more towards his opinion. It would explain how Zechs' security detail was breached... And Quatre said they were humoring the idea of a saboteur being hidden amongst either the preventers or the local police."

Although the words were grim, Wufei found himself smirking slightly. "Hm.. It's nice to see those two finally getting along.

Heero gave an amused hum and nodded. "Indeed. With the two of them finally working together willingly it should prove to increase our strategic and problem solving capacity. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what they come with in the future."

"Heh, same here." Wufei turned back to the computer and began compiling a list for their security teams to work on. "Then I suppose that we should take extra care to ensure that we get to see that future."

"Agreed."

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"I can't believe Relena is insisting Quatre go with her..." Noin muttered loudly as she held the door open for Sally.

Hauling a rather large box into her preventers office, Sally snorted in equal displeasure as she moved towards her desk. "I know what you mean. I'm still hesitant about letting Quatre out of the hospital, but you know how he is. He could get his foot cut off and still insist on running."

Hardly pleased with the imagery, Noin tried her best to focus on something else. "So what was Heero wanting you to do with all these old files?"

Finally resting the heavy box on her desk, Sally heaved a sigh and leaned against the box. "He thinks that there may be a conspiracy after Quatre. Now that I recalled all the times Quatre has landed in emergency over the past two years I'm incline to agree with him." She tapped the top of the box before she continued. "I'm going to look over the medical reports that other doctors and I have written on Quatre for the past two years. Heero's hoping that I may find a connection going the medical route while he looks over old reports with Une."

Now understanding, Noin frowned in concern. "Who would want to do such a thing..? Quatre's done everything he could to be fair and kind to everyone."

"Unfortunately, people that hold out olive branches are considered the most dangerous to those that seek conflict."

Looking towards the open door, the two women saw Zechs walking into the office. "Zechs? So you think there's a possible conspiracy too?" Noin asked with a concerned frown.

"After listening to Heero list all the close calls Quatre has been the focus of lately it's a bit hard to dismiss it as coincidence." He stopped in front of Sally's desk and looked seriously at both the women watching him. "Quatre may be the focus, but we should treat this as a potential threat to all of us. I'm placing everyone on high alert. Any and all suspicious activity is to be reported immediately."

"That only makes sense. Quatre is the good will ambassador not only for the colonies, but for the preventers as well..." Sally mumbled as she opened the box of files. She glanced towards the normally gruff man and couldn't help but feel worried for him. _'He just found out Quatre is his brother.. To be facing a threat against him must be troubling him a great deal...'_

Noticing the searching gaze the doctor fixed on him, Zechs was reminded his reason for making the journey. "Noin, would you mind helping Wufei plotting out the needed road blocks? I need to have a word with Sally."

Although she was uneasy about the strange tone in his voice, Noin nodded and headed for the door. "Let me know if either of you need anything." she called out before stepping out of the office and closing the door behind her.

Zechs waited until Noin's footsteps trailed off in the distance before he turned his attention to the curious expression on the doctor's face. "Sally..."

"Zechs... Is there something wrong?" Sally asked as her brow began to furrow.

"Several things seem wrong..." Zechs muttered as he perched himself on the corner of her desk.

Now worried, Sally moved to stand in front of him. "What's bothering you, Zechs?"

Having to pinch the bridge of his nose tightly, Zechs let out a weary sigh before he spoke. "Right now you're the only one that knows what's really going on... So you're the only one I can talk to at this point."

Seeing that this was of a personal nature, Sally tilted her head in confusion. "Is it something you don't feel comfortable discussing with Quatre..?"

"It's not that..." Zechs ran his hand through his hair as he grasped for the words to say. "I don't want to worry him with my paranoia... You know how he is. He takes on the blame for everything. He blamed himself for the animosity I held towards him all these years. With this conspiracy thing going on he'll probably insist that he's to blame for this as well."

Sally gave a soft laugh as she folded her arms over her chest. "Yes, you're probably right. So what's gotten you so bothered?"

Thinking about his problem made him shift uneasily, but Zechs forced himself to speak. "I'm worried that my judgement may be impaired... Since Quatre is my brother, and I came very close to losing him, my mind is getting carried away. The more we analyze the situation the more it's painfully obvious that someone is trying to kill him."

"So you're becoming paranoid about Quatre's safety, and you think it's starting to affect your work?"

Zechs nodded as he looked at the box resting next to him. "I can't get the image of him covered in blood in my arms out of my head. It almost makes me ill to think that it could happen again..."

That made the doctor smile sadly. "You're afraid of losing him... The protective older brother really suits you, Zechs."

A soft snort of amusement left him. "Not really.. I wasn't there for Quatre or Relena when they really needed me."

"Zechs, you're the only reason Quatre's alive."

"That's what everyone keeps telling me." Zechs shook his head and locked his gaze on the floor. "I don't know what to think anymore... What if I can't protect him next time? What if I am too late to save him..."

The fact his tone was so wracked with doubt surprised Sally. "Zechs, I've never heard you this uncertain before. Are you really that affected by all this?"

"He's my brother.. My full blooded brother. Since Relena only really acknowledges me at her convenience, Quatre's the only family I have left." He looked up to Sally's pale eyes and frowned deeply. "He actually treats me like a brother. He cares... I.. I've never experienced that before. Thinking about losing him... I don't think I could handle that."

"Zechs... What are you saying..?" Sally asked suspiciously.

Zechs closed his eyes and bowed his head. "I'm saying... Focusing on my hatred towards Quatre was the only thing that kept me going for years. Now that I know the truth all that has changed. I've found that I'm not alone any more..." His hands gripped tightly at the edges of the desk as he forced out what was really on his mind. "Without Quatre... I don't have anything else. My past is gone... My family is gone... If I can't protect him.. I don't think I could live with myself."

Sally's pale eyes widened in alarm. She quickly moved forward and took hold of his shoulders tightly. "Zechs, you can't think like that. Quatre has proven over and over that he can't be erased just like that. He's strong.. And so are you." She took hold of his chin and had him look at her. "Just think, Zechs... Say something did happen to Quatre... Do you honestly think he would approve of you doing anything to yourself? You said yourself that he cares about you."

"Heh... He would probably blame himself like he always does..." Zechs muttered on a weak laugh.

"Exactly. He would want you to be strong... Be there for the others that are important to him. Duo and Trowa... His sisters and the maguanacs... You saw how devastated they all were." She gently cupped his face and smiled gently. "He's a big part in all our lives... You're not alone, Zechs. Quatre saw to it that none of us would be."

When it was stated so eloquently, Zechs steadily began understanding what Sally was getting at. He placed his hands over the ones on his face and gave a halfhearted smirk. "I get what you're saying... But I still can't help what I feel. It's distracting me. I don't know how well I can protect my own brother when I'm stressing over every possible threat."

That made Sally chuckle despite the grim subject. "Zechs, Quatre's been in the line of fire for a long time... Both of you have. Odds are that the threats will never end."

"You're really great at comforting someone, Doctor Po." Zechs grunted, sarcasm thick in his voice and expression.

Sally lightly smacked the man's cheek before she pulled away. "Just stating facts, Zechs. No need to get snarky on me."

"I know... It also pisses me off that I was the biggest threat to my own brother for so long. All that time wasted..."

"That only means that you should hold on to what time you have now. I know it's not pleasant to think of, but you really don't know how much you have." Sally pointed out calmly.

Zechs knew she was right, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. "You're right... It would be easier if he hadn't asked me to keep it a secret, but I understand why he doesn't want anyone else to know." He paused for a moment, then chuckled softly. "I guess you're right. I did slip into the protective older brother role quite easily. Quatre's already saying I nag him too much about his health."

"Hey, that's a good thing. He tries to do way too much even when he's injured. If I had my way he'd still be in that hospital bed." Sally shook her head and hummed softly. "Hm... It's really amazing how much alike you two really are and no one ever noticed... Now that I look back you two are too similar for it to be coincidence."

For some reason that pleased him. "Yeah... Anyway, thanks for listening to me bitch, Sally. I better get back to work now. I'm not about to be slack on security this time." Zechs added as he slid off the desk.

As he was about to leave, a thought occurred to Sally that had her instantly frowning. "Zechs.. Before you go, there is one thing that happened that's left me very disturbed."

Zechs paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. "What is it?"

"When Quatre left the hospital I packed a medical bag to bring here just incase he over did things so I could give him quick treatment." Sally's frown deepened when she recalled looking through the bag she brought into her office. "I had packed a syringe and a vial of methohexital... When I looked through my bag this morning both of those things were missing."

On hearing the name of the drug Zechs arched up a brow. "Isn't that a strong sedative?" he questioned, already piecing together what all could be done with such a drug.

Sally nodded and bit at her thumb nervously. "It's one most hospitals and medics use to sedate patients... Through an IV is usually acts within seconds, but just injected it takes around ten minutes to put someone under. At first I thought perhaps I just forgot to pack it, but when I called the hospital they said that one was missing from the inventory..."

"Dammit.. When do you think it could have been taken?"

"That's just it, I have no clue. The bag was with me at all times until I got here. Then I locked it up in a filing cabinet under my desk." Sally felt her own paranoia growing the more she thought about it. "Zechs.. What if there is a traitor here after Quatre? Who could it possibly be?"

Zechs was forced to shake his head. "I have no idea... But we're not going to stop digging until we find this bastard. I'm tempted to just lock Quatre up in an old war bunker until we're certain he's safe."

"Hey, that might not be a bad idea. Mention it to Heero." Sally chuckled to lighten the mood.

"Heh... Trust me. He's already threatened to tie Quatre up and hide him in the archives vault until this blows over." He then turned and headed back for the door. "I'm going to alert the others of the missing vial... See if you can contact the hospital and tell them to increase security around their storage facilities for any medicines."

"Right." Once the man left her office, Sally leaned back against her desk and let out a weary breath. "Of all the things to happen... Quatre and Zechs have lost enough." Her eyes glanced towards the clear skies just outside her office window. "Is it too much to ask for..? That they be able to find peace now that they've found one another?"

Silence was the only thing that answered her.

However that only made her brow furrow deeply in determination. "Fine... If nothing will answer, then I'll just make my own answer."

She pushed off the edge of her desk and returned to the box of files. "I won't stop until I get the answer I want." she grunted, ripping open the box and taking out the top few files.

She then sat heavily in her desk chair and began with the first file. It was going to be hard. Having to relive all the moments that Quatre was nearly taken from them. _'But it won't happen... The ones responsible can try all they like, but I refuse to let him slip away. I'll patch him up every time.'_ Her eyes glanced over a chart that listed multiple broken ribs and a dislocated shoulder. She remembered the day well. "He was smiling even after I popped his shoulder back into place..." she whispered to herself.

The fact that someone could possibly want to harm Quatre, for any reason, made Sally angrier than she had ever been. "I shouldn't worry though. Zechs... Heero... All of us... We'll hunt the bastards down."

A smirk suddenly curled her lips.

"And when we do I'm going to enjoy watching Zechs and the others rip them apart..."

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TBC

Beware the wrath of an angry Sally.

Scary.

Later~


	10. No hugs

The dreaded pink shark is slowly closing in..

Enjoy~

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Chapter 10

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Preparations for the press conference went smoothly for the most part. With the unknown threats that lingered around them, everyone on the Preventer's staff was constantly looking over their shoulders. Scrutinizing every move that everyone made. Investigating even the slightest unusual behavior. It was proving to be an exhausting task, but everyone plowed forward.

Every member of the press that was to attend was screened multiple times by various Preventer workers before passing through the vigorous checks of Heero and Zechs. So far everything checked out fine. A bit too fine for Heero's tastes.

Things had been unusually quiet for the past week. Protest groups seemed to have settled down after Quatre's latest brush with death. The majority of the world and colonies were at the most peaceful point in decades. It was strange that the horrific incident would calm things so drastically. If anything, Heero and Zechs would have thought it would escalated tension.

In the end they were left with very little answers in a very taxing situation. However they weren't about to let their guard down again.

They were taking even further caution with this assignment. Heero and Zechs took on the role of body guards personally while everyone else was running intel and security sweeps of the area. The day of the conference, both Relena and Quatre were secured in a vacant home they were using as a safe house until they continued to the court house that was chosen for the event. It was to be a smaller event than the previous one, which was somewhat of a relief.

But as Heero and Zechs stood in the living room of the safe house it was clear that neither of them were going to release their serious full alert stances. Quatre and Relena were getting themselves ready in the two rooms just down the hall, and the only other person in the house was one of Relena's assistants that was helping her with her hair and makeup. Said assistant had to jump through some serious hoops and withstand a in depth background check, but everything came up clean.

So far everything seemed to be going according to plan.

"I don't like this...."

Heero looked over towards his comrade and snorted softly. "You got that feeling too?"

Zechs nodded and folded his arms stiffly over his chest. "I have no idea why this press conference to so damn important. They should both be under close guard. Not parading around like ducks in a row..."

"I don't get it either... Quatre's not pleased about it. He only agreed to this to get her to shut up." Heero mused, having done something similar in the past.

"We both know how that is... Her persistence can be quite irritating after a while." Zechs mumbled as he leaned against the doorway to the hall. "Personally I think she's realizing that she's losing her hold on the masses. Her rhetoric is becoming old. The people want answers to the problems they're facing now. Not vague ideas for the future."

Heero readily agreed. "I know. Quatre's been the one getting his hands dirty by helping reconstruction efforts and overseeing diplomatic meetings between the colonies. I'm not surprised the attention has shifted so drastically." A faint chuckle left him when he remembered his last conversation with the Arabian. "Quatre said he was content with letting Relena get her ass handed to her by the public eye. Looks like that may happen fairly soon."

The colorful language didn't really seem like his brother, but Zechs still gave an amused hum. "Maybe a little failure will do her some good. She may have suffered through a lot, but past all the angst she's still spoiled as hell."

That made Heero raise a brow, but his lips twitched into a smirk as he bowed his head. "Heh, glad someone has the balls to say it out loud."

"You learn to be blunt when you're surrounded by long winded people."

"I second that."

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"Relena... Do you really think all of this is necessary?"

The vice foreign minister looked into the large mirror in front of her and smiled at the reflection of the blonde diplomat. "Of course. I can't go back on my word, now can I?" she giggled sweetly.

Leaning against the back wall, Quatre lightly tugged at the white cravat he was wearing in irritation. "Relena, these are extenuating circumstances... We're both still in danger. Hell, Zechs could be a target too. All of this will be far too tempting a target." he pointed out seriously. His eyes kept glancing down at his shoes where there were still a few specks of blood on them. He purposely left the spots there to remind him who was really the one in danger. _'I'm the target... It's so obvious now... But who is after me..?'_ he thought as a deep frown fell over his face.

Although the frown made her curious, Relena slowly let her eyes run over her companion's tall slender frame. He was wearing a black version of his diplomatic clothes, which made a slow smile form on her lips. _'The future God of Peace clad all in black... How fitting for today... So beautiful...'_ She felt her heart pound softly as she forced herself to keep a calm front. _'Things have to be perfect today... I only have a small window... Especially with those two following our every move...'_

Thoughts of her brother and her former lover made a faint smirk twitch onto her face. _'With their overwhelming grief, they will be the first to give themselves to Quatre's following... I'll be there to comfort the both of them... And the rest will all fall in step...'_ Her smile grew the more she thought of her perfect plan.

When the woman didn't respond, Quatre glanced up through his long bangs towards the mirror. He immediately noticed the smirk on the reflection's face, which made his eyes narrow. _'I'm getting a bad feeling... Relena had a connection to every incident I was victim of... For someone that knows how dangerous this is she's acting rather calm... Too calm...' _He didn't want to think that the figurehead for peace would be involved in something that had already cost the lives of countless people. However he knew he couldn't take any chances. _'Why would she insist that I accompany her...? She refused to back down when Sally protested... Some of my diplomatic associates have also complained that this is too dangerous... She seems far too determined to go through with this... Like someone that knows they have nothing to lose...'_

His thoughts steadily became darker the longer the silence hovered in the room. He briefly humored the thought that he could be allowing his paranoia getting the better of him, but he instantly chided himself. _'In war and politics paranoia is your best friend... My intuition hasn't led me astray yet... No point in doubting it now.'_

A knock on the door had both of them turning towards it to see Heero stepping inside. "Come on, you two. They're ready for us. Relena, you're going first with Zechs. Quatre, I'll be taking you once Relena is secure." he stated while holding the door open.

As Relena quietly stood from her place at the vanity in the room, Quatre looked out the door to see Zechs standing there with a deep frown of concern focused on him. The amount of concern his brother showed made a grateful smile appear on Quatre's lips. _'My brother is looking out for me... I'll be fine...'_ he thought while giving a reassuring nod to Zechs. The action prompted a little smirk on the older blonde's face before he wordlessly led Relena away.

Heero closed the door once the two left and let out a slow breath. "If you want to back out now I can see what I can.."

"No, Heero... I'm already here. There's no sense in running." Quatre cut in calmly.

Heero faced his long time comrade and frowned in disapproval. "Quatre... The risk of this is completely outrageous.. Why did you agree?"

Quatre bowed his head and heaved a heavy sigh. "It is ridiculously dangerous... But the amount of extra security involved gives us an opportunity. Even if I am attacked again it will draw out someone who is responsible." He lifted his gaze to the cobalt one fixed on him. "No matter what happens to me, Heero.. We need to stop whoever is behind this. I may just be the first target."

The subtle statement made Heero's mood darken. "So you're offering yourself up as bait..."

"I know what you're thinking, and you're probably right. It's insane and selfish of me to do this without discussing it with anyone." Quatre readily admitted. He pushed away from the wall and looked to the large vanity Relena had been seated at. "But you have no idea how horrible I feel now that you and the others set everything into proportion... To know that so many died as a result of being some sadistic person's assassination attempt..."

Hearing the torment in the tired voice made Heero's concerns grow. "Quatre, you can't be thinking of blaming yourself for this."

A weak snort left the blonde as he ran his hands through his hair. "I might as well... Innocent people died because they were just within the same area as me." Quatre grew silent for a moment before he forced himself to face his one time leader and confess what was really wearing on him. "Before now, everything was orchestrated to appear as accidents... But that sniper was a deliberate attempt. That shows a growing desperation. There was no way deadly force wouldn't have been used to take him out."

"So that sniper was a sacrifice..." Heero muttered as he began to see the same picture.

Quatre readily nodded. "For all we know, that missing woman could have been killed as well to finish any loose ends. We've been focusing too much on those two, and not enough on anyone that could be a common thread."

"Relena..." Heero found himself grunting.

A pale hand rose to keep Heero listening. "I'm beginning to have similar thoughts, Heero... I don't want to, but she's been way too careless the past few years. It's borderline idiotic now that I've examined some of the things we've had to do for her recently." A frown stole over his face as a question struck him. "Heero.. Have you noticed Relena's behavior changing any?"

The question forced Heero to recall his past with the woman. "She took my breaking up with her pretty hard.. But she seemed fine after a while until Pagan died."

"Wait, Pagan died?" Quatre cut in with a puzzled look. "When? I never heard anything about it."

Heero nodded and held his chin as he thought aloud. "It was about three years ago. After that Relena seemed.. Odd, I suppose. I only found out because I had gone to her place for a few of my things I had left behind. I'm not sure why, but she didn't seem very sad about his death."

"Three years ago? The riot on L-3 happened not long after that..." Quatre muttered.

Now seeing the connection as well, Heero looked to the door almost apprehensively. "So Pagan's death may have triggered something... But what could it possibly be that would result in this?"

The blonde head shook as he let out an exasperated breath. "I have no idea... But we need to be sure it is Relena before we act." His mind was racing with all the possibilities, but he was able to muck his way through them to figure out a plan of action. "Alright.. In case something does happen to me, you need to send someone to investigate what Relena has been up to recently. Search the hotel room she's been staying in and see if you can pull up phone records or her credit card reports. I'm sure you know we have to be as discreet as possible."

"Of course... But can't we figure out a different way that won't get you directly involved?"

The concern in his friend's words made Quatre smile sadly. "I'm still trying to think of something, but this is the best chance we've got. The only option we have is finding the evidence we need soon so we can quietly contain her. This has the potential to cause an uproar and destroy what progress has been made. We have to tread carefully."

He didn't like it. In fact, Heero hated it. But it didn't change the facts. "You're right..." Even as he said that an idea of his own occurred to him. "I know... I'll have Duo bring my laptop. I'll do searches on her phone records and credit cards. Wufei's already has doubts about Relena's connections with all of this, so he'll be of some help as well."

Quatre nodded readily. "If you do a search of her hotel and her home I would like Duo and Trowa to handle it. They'll be able to spot anything suspicious."

"Agreed, but directly after this conference you are going under lock down. Full security detail in a safe location. I don't care what you say, I'm not going to let you place yourself in any more danger. Got that?"

To Heero's surprise his gruff words were met with a calm smile and another nod. "I understand, Heero... You're right, and I won't put up a fight. This isn't just about my safety. I've unintentionally been endangering innocent people around me." His pale hands reached out and rested on Heero's broad shoulders. Quatre looked seriously into the deep blue eyes and frowned grimly as he spoke. "If nothing happens during this conference I want you to make sure I'm isolated afterwards... I don't want anyone else hurt because some psycho wants me dead. Can you promise me that, Heero?"

Heero was startled, but he was immediately grasping the blonde's arms with a look of frustration on his face. "Dammit, Quatre, quit acting as if you're the one to blame! This isn't your fault! You're the victim! You don't always have to take responsibility!"

The amount of emotion behind those words was alarming and confusing to Quatre. "Heero...?"

The Japanese man shook his head before giving a stern glare. "No, Quatre.. You do this every time. You never let yourself just step back. You always insist on taking on the responsibility of everything around you." Heero tightened the grip he had on the black clad arms as his expression fell into something softer. Almost sad. "You did nothing wrong. Please stop acting like you deserve this... It tears at all of us when you face everything head on. When you don't let us help you."

Instead of arguing or denying what Heero was saying, Quatre found himself humming softly. He gently took hold of Heero's arms and held onto them firm. "Knowing that you and the others care so much... That helps me more than anything, Heero." The blonde head bowed slightly as a deep sigh left him. For the briefest moment he was allowing to show just how much this was wearing on him as his shoulders slumped forward. "I can't help how I feel, though. This has to stop one way or another..."

Seeing that look of exhaustion on the blonde grated horribly on Heero's conscience. _'He's no where near recovered from everything..' _It was then that he made a decision. "Fuck waiting... I'm sending Duo and Trowa to look though Relena's hotel. If they find evidence we'll detain her after the press conference."

The flat tone told Quatre that there was no disputing it. "Wait until we're secure in the motorcade. Instruct the drivers to take us directly back to Preventers HQ, and we'll detain her there." He stood up straighter and looked into the dark blue eyes watching him. "We'll be able to have more control of the situation that way."

Heero nodded and reached into his jacket pocket. "I was able to make a smaller headset for you. That way you can communicate as well as listen in on what's going on."

Quatre took the smaller headset and gave a tired smile as he put it on. "Thank you, Heero. My hair should keep it hidden."

"I was counting on that when I made it. I don't want you to hesitate to call in anything you think is even the slightest bit off." Heero gave a stern glare and prodded hard at the center of the blonde's chest. "And no more heroics. I don't care what you've said to the others. I can tell that you're still in a lot of pain."

A small annoyed pout pulled at Quatre's lips as he rubbed at his chest. "Being poked at isn't helping, you know."

The dry retort made Heero smirk. "Just making sure I have your attention. I want you to make sure you keep one of us in sight at all times. Never walk anywhere alone, and especially not around Relena. Got it?"

"Yes, Heero. If you want to search her hotel this soon is it wise to send Duo and Trowa? Aren't they needed at the conference?" Quatre questioned, glancing at his watch to check the time.

Also checking the time, Heero noted that Zechs should be contacting him soon to inform him that Relena was secure. "As useful as they would be here, they're still too rattled from everything that has happened. It would be best to distance them from the situation."

"Heh, and the rest of us aren't?" the blonde pointed out with a smirk of his own.

"Touche." Heero readily conceded. "However both of them have been exhausting themselves trying to figure out the one behind this. Combined with how much your stay at the hospital impacted them and trying to keep your ridiculously huge family calm, I'm surprised they aren't the ones in a coma." His dark brown head shook as he folded his arms over his chest. "They would just be biting nails having to wait through the conference. This will give them something productive to do to burn off that nervous energy."

Quatre was a bit surprised at the thoughtfulness behind the reason, but he quickly knew that he shouldn't be. His genuine smile tugged back onto his face as he lightly nudged the once perfect soldier. "Careful, Heero... Your humanity is showing more and more these days." he teased.

A sharp snort left Heero before he rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. You've all been a horrible influence on me. All this concern and family crap his making me feel funny."

"You mean feel human?"

"Yeah. It sucks. All these damn emotions. Such a pain in the ass." Heero grunted, meaning every word.

A bright grin formed on Quatre's face as he raised his hands and clapped them on Heero's shoulders once more. "Welcome to my world, Heero! It only gets worse from here!"

Another flat glare met the sarcastic cheery tone. "Great. You're not going to hug me now, are you?"

A chuckle left Quatre as he let his hands fall back to his sides. "I hadn't thought about it, but if you need one I will oblige."

"That won't be necessary. I'm not at Duo's level of sappy just yet."

"Yet! So there's hope for you!" Quatre teased further, just to see the faint twitch that formed in Heero's left eye.

Before Heero could make a snide comment a voice sounded off in their headsets. -"Wind reporting in. Dove has been safely delivered."-

Heero reached up to his headset. "Roger, Wind. Commencing delivery of Prince. Wing out." He turned towards Quatre and gestured for the door. "Let's go. Remember everything I've said."

"No heroics, no flying solo, no self blaming, and no hugs." Quatre recited as he headed for the door.

"Eh.. Close enough."

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TBC

Aww..

I wanna hug!

Lolz

Later~


	11. None of us will

They're getting closer...

Enjoy~

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Chapter 11

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In the stillness of a quiet hotel room, the faint sound of the ticking clock on the bedside table was accompanied briefly by a strange clicking noise emitting from the other side of the securely locked door.

Seconds passed until the silence was cut by a faint beep following the distinct clack of a lock disengaging. The door slowly swung open to reveal a bright grin on a certain American's face as he twirled a small device by its read and black cables. "Sweet, I shaved two seconds off my best time. Am I awesome, or am I awesome?" Duo snickered before placing the device in his preventers jacket's pocket.

Trowa looked over his comrade's shoulder into the hotel room. "Your penchant for things clearly illegal will never cease to amaze me. Now how much time do we have for this search?" he questioned while pulling out a pair of latex gloves from his own pocket.

Taking that as a cue to get his own gloves out, Duo was quick to tug them on as he stepped into the room. "Hee said that the conference just started and things are proceeding normally. Knowing Relena, she'll want to talk everyone to death. I'd say we have maybe half an hour to search then put everything back before we leave."

"Plenty of time. I'll start with the closet, you take the dresser."

"Alrighty." Duo didn't hesitate to go straight for the large dresser in front of the king sized bed and pull out the entire top drawer. The moment he saw lace he snorted in amusement. "Okay, this is slightly awkward." he chuckled, placing the drawer on the end of the bed.

Once the drawer was on the bed he stood straight for a moment and placed his hand to his chin in thought. "If anyone asked me last week what my next assignment was going to be, I don't think 'rifling through the Vice Foreign Minister's lace teddies' would have crossed my mind." he mused out loud.

"I would have been very disturbed if it did, Duo." Trowa called out from the closet. When he couldn't hear Duo moving he leaned back to check on him. The American was still standing glaring at the drawer like he was hesitant to move closer. "Duo, I know women's intimate apparel is intimidating, but we do have time constraints. They won't bite you."

Duo gave a short bark of laughter and fished out one of the flimsy teddies. "I'm just wondering how many of these Heero's played with." He held a purple tiger print teddy with a black feather fringe around the hems up to his chest and struck a pose. "Whaddaya think, Tro? Am I sexy?" he cooed while batting his eyelashes.

Trowa gave a little smirk and rolled his eyes. "Beautiful. Now can we be serious here for a few minutes? We're doing this for Quatre." he pointed out while returning to the pink suitcases piled in the closet.

The reminder had Duo smirking as he held up the teddy for further inspection. "You know a guy's your best friend when you're willing to break into a chick's hotel room to snoop through her lacy things, and it not have any sexual pretenses whatsoever."

"Indeed." the Frenchman called out followed by the sounds of zippers.

Continuing with his own search, Duo looked through the drawer, but when he saw how elaborate each article of clothing was his eyebrow quirked up high. "This is kinda weird..."

"What?"

Duo glanced over the price tags that were still attached to some of the garments as he spoke. "As far as I know Relena's been single since she and Hee split three years ago... A lot of this stuff looks like she's bought it recently... Why would a single chick pay some serious coin for sexy stuff when she has no one to show it to?"

"Perhaps she just liked them..." Trowa trailed off for a moment as a thought occurred to him. "Duo... Perhaps a better question would be why would Relena bother to place them in the drawer to begin with?" He stepped out of the closet and focused on the drawer on the bed. "If she recently bought them, wouldn't there be shopping bags in the room? Or at least be packed away in the suit cases? Placing them in the drawer means that she does intend to wear them during her stay here."

"Ooo... Naughty Relena.. Maybe she did find someone." Duo whistled as he placed everything back as it was in the drawer.

"Well, if she did, it's a bit careless of her not to inform us so we could include it on the security detail." Trowa muttered before returning to the half opened suitcases.

"Gotta good point there. Maybe she's hiring out a gigolo during the evening." the American thought out loud while replacing the drawer in the dresser.

"Focus, Duo."

The rest of the search went quietly and uneventful. The closet and the dresser turned up nothing of interest, as did the vanity and the bathroom. It was looking as if their assignment was a waste of time.

"Oi, Tro.. Found a strange note here in the bedside table..."

Looking up from where he was putting back the things in the vanity table, Trowa instantly frowned when he saw the unusual expression on his friend's face. "What does it say?"

Standing up straight, Duo glanced over the notepad in his hands. "Looks like a eulogy speech..."

"Eulogy?" Trowa repeated as he crossed the room to the braided man's side. "I don't recall anyone passing. Does it have a name on it?"

That braided head shook, but his brow seemed to furrow deeper the longer he read. "No.. But listen to this... Although he was taken from us in such a tragic way, we cannot allow ourselves to forget what he strived to teach all of us every day. His passing should inspire a greater passion within us to be the same pillar of hope and peace that he represented. Remember the strength he showed throughout the hardships that were constantly dealt to him over his life. A life cut far too short by the cruelties that still plague humanity. We should all endeavor to ensure that we do not allow such a travesty to happen again. In honor of my fallen counterpart in the road to peace, I beseech all of you to join me in turning his dream of finally bridging the gap between the colonies and the Earth in a peaceful coexistence into a reality." When Duo finished he glanced towards his comrade with a narrowed glare. "You thinking the same thing I am...?"

Mirroring his friend's glare, Trowa took the notepad and glanced over the words written in a delicate cursive. "Indeed... Seems as if Relena is anticipating a demise that has yet to occur." He looked towards the silently fuming American and was quick to place his gloved hand on the tense shoulder. "Duo, focus. This isn't enough to pin anything on her. We need something solid."

Duo took a deep breath to calm himself and bowed his head. "You're right..." As his eyes dropped to the dark red carpet his attention was caught on a black strap that was peaking out from under the bed. "Hello... Something's stashed under the bed."

Seeing it as well, Trowa got down on the floor to search under the bed. Soon he pulled out a black leather attache case and handed it to Duo. "It has a lock on it."

Taking the case, Duo smirked coyly. "I'm sorry, the word 'lock' isn't in my vocabulary." he stated while smoothly producing his black leather lock picking case from his jacket pocket.

Trowa hummed softly as he looked under the bed for anything else. "You're such a delinquent."

"Ah yes, but a delinquent that makes things a hell of a lot easier." Duo countered as he proceeded to pop the lock on the case.

"Quatre's faster than you at lock picking." the Frenchman stated as he stood.

Duo gave a sarcastic glare to his companion. "Yeah, and Heero's faster than both of us."

"That's because he shoots at a lock until it ceases to be a lock."

"Exactly. It's all about results." Duo's words were punctuated by the click of the small lock finally releasing. He opened the case and froze the moment he saw its contents. "Trowa... Call Heero now..." he whispered as he stared at the countless faces of his best friend staring back at him.

Trowa had already reached for his phone when his eye caught sight of the blonde's image in the center of a scope pattern. He was about to dial when the sound of heavy boots stomping echoed from the hall. The pair traded a quick glance, and in an instant Duo had the case closed before he drug it and himself under the bed. Trowa darted for the balcony, crouching low as he slipped out and hid out of sight.

Duo controlled his breathing as he waited for the footsteps, slowly reaching for his sidearm behind his back. Their caution wasn't in vain when the sound of footsteps stopped in front of Relena's hotel room. The faint beep that sounded easily alerted him that whoever was entering had a keycard. _'A co-conspirator..?' _he thought while clutching the case tighter to him.

"No, nothing looks out of place... Yeah, I know... The lady is completely mental, but her money's still good."

When the bed suddenly bowed under the weigh of someone heavy, Duo bit his lip and tried to move out of the way.

"Oh yeah, when he didn't die she fuckin blew her top. She's insisting that she doesn't need any help this time. We're just supposed to keep those clowns that are always lurking around him out of the way...." The bed shifted slightly like its occupant was leaning over. "Nah, can't kill them. She said she needed them later. Blondie's the only one that needs to go... No, don't got a clue why. Don't really care. We're not supposed to ask that kinda shit anyway. From what I heard this bitch is going through hired guns faster than fuck..." A deep chuckle sounded and slightly shook the bed. "Yeah, Blondie himself took out Marcus. Nice tight triple tap to the chest.... Oh yeah, it was beautiful. And at that distance? I think he was a pro back during the war. Probably why it's so fuckin hard to kill the little bastard."

'_Heh.. You got no idea, pal..' _Duo glanced towards the balcony and wondered if Trowa was hearing everything. _'I'm pretty sure this qualifies as our proof...'_

If only they could report it in.

Out on the balcony Trowa was having similar thoughts. Crouched down hidden behind the wall next to the door, Trowa could make out most of the things said inside. Since the sound was muffled and the noises of the midday traffic were filling the air, Trowa decided to take a chance and pulled out his phone. He was originally going to call Heero, but they needed more coverage. _'Need more security at the courthouse...' _he thought as he hit speed dial.

-"Yes, Trowa? What is it? Have you found something?"- Une's voice called out over the phone.

"Yes, we've discovered something that would suggest an obsession over Quatre and possible notes for his own eulogy. Right now someone has entered the room. Duo and myself are hiding, but from the conversation the guy is having on the phone it sounds like he's a hired gun watching the place while Relena is busy." Trowa whispered as low as he could.

There was a slight pause before a deep sigh sounded over the line. -"Do you need back up?"-

"Negative, we don't want to risk anyone that may be in on this spotting any marked vehicles. However I believe you may want to send it to the courthouse. From what I could hear it sounds like Relena is going to act out some sort of plan today.."

-"Of course. I'll have them sent immediately and inform Heero of what you've told me. What are your plans now? Will you be able to escape without detection?"-

"We more than likely could, but do you think an accessory would be a useful thing to obtain?"

-"Heh.. Accessories are always useful, Trowa. Please be careful, and inform me of when you have the situation contained. I'll send out an unmarked vehicle to pick you up and return you to HQ."-

"Yes, Ma'am." Trowa immediately closed his phone and glanced back towards the glass doors. _'Hopefully... Duo remembers contingency plan nine...'_

Under the bed Duo was sorely tempted to take out the loud annoying man perched on the bed. _'Wonder if I could get a clean shot if I pointed through the mattress...'_ he mused, his eyes twitching when the hired man gave another bellowing laugh. _'Fuck.. For a mercenary, this guy ain't too stealthy...'_

"That would be fuckin awesome! But hey, I better let ya go.... Nah, I just don't wanna hafta deal with her bitching if she finds out I've been on the phone. She's iced other mercs for less, man. Remember what happened to Liza? Seriously. I'd feel sorry for her if I didn't feel like getting the same treatment from that psycho.... Nah, Liza's still alive. I think... I dunno. I'm not about to risk my neck looking for her though. Anyway, I'm gonna get back to watchin this place. Talk to ya later, man." The sound of a phone snapping shut was promptly followed by a weight flopping back onto the bed.

Duo's eyes widened when the bed bowed again and nearly settled onto his back. _'Shit.. This guy must be huge...' _Now at least any shot he took would be a kill shot, but he knew they were supposed to make their presence unknown. _'Dammit.. What do we do...?'_

Suddenly a soft sound came from the balcony. "Ryoow... Ryooow..."

The man on the bed shifted. "A cat? She didn't say anything about a cat..."

The moment Duo heard the sound something clicked inside his mind. _'Cat.. Plan nine...'_ When the plan instantly ran through his head, the weight on the bed started to move. Seeing his chance, Duo silently began to unhook the long leather strap from the attache case.

Strap in hand, Duo inched towards the end of the bed and waited for the man to head for the balcony doors. Once the man was almost at the glass doors, Duo crept out from under the bed and stayed in a crouch for a moment longer. The man was huge. Well over six feet with a broad build. Duo was guessing at least 250 pounds hidden beneath the thick brown canvas jacket and the camo pants. However the sight didn't intimidate him. His size was exactly was plan nine was made for. _'Heh.. Good call, Tro...'_

The mercenary placed his paw of a hand on the balcony door and opened it. "Alright, ya stupid cat..."

Before he could take a step out the door, Duo charged forward. Within a second he jumped on the man's broad back and wrapped the leather strap around the thick neck before pulling back with all of his strength. There was a gurgling gasp as the mercenary began to choke. His meaty arms tried to swat at the form attached to him, but Duo cracked his left knee hard into the guy's kidney. When the Mercenary stumbled at the blow, Duo looked to the balcony. "Tro!!" As soon as he called out, he immediately dropped down the burly man's back, still hanging to the ends of the strap.

The mercenary was about to turn to shake Duo off of him, but his eyes nearly bulged out of his head when a solid force plowed into his stomach. Unable to take in a breath after his diaphragm was crushed, he couldn't let out the cry of pain that wanted to form when he heard several ribs crack. Straight ahead he was caught in the sight of a single green eye. He barely got a glimpse of the boot planted in his stomach before his vision steadily faded to black.

Seeing the man was already out for the count, Trowa let his right foot settle back on the floor. "You can let go now, Duo."

Duo readily let go of the strap, and watched with a satisfied smirk as the burly man fell to the carpet in a heap. "Ha, that was easy."

"Don't get too comfortable, Duo." Trowa pulled out his cell and made a quick note of the time. "The press conference will be over any minute. Relena's bound to strike soon. We need to prepare."

His good mood quickly twisting into something close to a deep seated anger, Duo glared at the mercenary. "That bitch isn't going to lay a hand on Q... I'll cap the whore myself if she tries." he grunted before dealing a swift kick to unconscious man's side.

Trowa placed a calming hand on his friend's shoulder as he pressed the speed dial on his phone. "Easy, Duo... We need to make sure everyone knows of the situation first. Just because Relena is the ring leader doesn't mean she's the only one lying in wait. Une will send for us. We'll take this guy with us and make him sing."

Still wanting to beat his anger out on the hapless bag of meat on the floor, Duo clenched his fists tightly to force himself to focus. "He'll be singing fuckin soprano after I'm done with him." he growled between his gritted teeth.

"You'll get your chance..." Trowa trailed off when the line picked up. "Une, we've got things under control. Send a van to the loading dock at the back of the building."

-"It's on its way. Be careful. There may be others lurking in the area. I've already sent word to Heero. He'll take appropriate action."- Une responded, her words very clipped.

Trowa could tell she was just on edge as everyone else. "Roger. We'll case the area before we make a move." He quickly closed his phone and pointed towards the door. "See if you can obtain a laundry cart from room service. We'll need to make sure this is the only merc that has an eye on this place."

Duo raised a brow at the command, but soon was smirking. "Afraid I'll kick this fucker's skull in if you go?"

Trowa mirrored the smirk. "I know you will."

"Heh, you know me well, Tro. I'll see what I can commandeer." Duo called out as he moved quick for the door.

Once his friend was out of the room, Trowa regarded the mercenary at his feet. He lightly nudged the unmoving hand with the toe of his boot and hummed thoughtfully. "You're lucky I have more control than Duo... Or that kick would have been to your throat."

His eyes flickered towards the notepad that held the eulogy for his closest friend. He stared at it for a moment before his gaze narrowed dangerously. "I won't show you the same mercy, Relena..."

"None of us will..."

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TBC

Looks like miss perky princess is officially on the shit list.

Later~


	12. A perfect bastard

Here's where things truly begin.

Enjoy~

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Chapter 12

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"Things seem to be progressing smoothly.."

Heero snorted softly and glanced towards his one time enemy sarcastically. "That only convinces me further that something is going to happen."

Zechs nodded slightly, but kept his eyes fixed on his brother's smiling face behind the table at Relena's side. "I agree. I'm just uncertain that I believe Relena could have plotted everything on her own... My gut is telling me that she had to get help."

"She has the resources to hire a small army. I wouldn't put it past her to buy a plan from someone as well." Heero muttered as he glared at his ex.

"Very true... Have you thought of anything that could have triggered this?" Zechs questioned as he looked carefully around the closed off room of the courthouse. It was small. Only half of the press that had attended the speech were allowed to get in. It made it far easier to map out security, but that was the most puzzling thing. Relena had picked this building herself. Something had to be wrong.

Thinking very similar things, Heero folded his arms over his chest and kept his gaze locked on the two at the other side of the room. "Nothing that makes any sense. It could be petty jealousy, but this is extreme... What about you?"

The redirection made Zechs snort slightly as he leaned back against the securely locked doors of the main entrance. "I may be her brother, but I don't have a clue about her. Only thing I can gather is that something about Pagan's death made her snap. That's when all of this appears to have started." he concluded as he glanced at his watch. The Q&A would be over in mere minutes. After that they had to move quickly.

"If she truly has snapped, we should also be prepared." Heero met Zechs' puzzled gaze as a grim expression darkened his features. "She may consider us obstacles at this point. Our own lives may be in just as much danger."

Zechs kept his gaze locked on Heero's for a moment before he gave a slight snort. "Whatever. At the moment I'm only concerned about Quatre."

Heero's eyes narrowed slightly, but he said nothing. As he turned his attention back to the pair they were watching, he mulled over the strange new relationship between his two blonde comrades. _'Zechs went from hating the ground Quatre stood on to being fiercely protective of him... Practically over night... Something isn't adding up.' _

-"Dragon reporting. The armored cars are ready at the back entrances. One has instructions to escort Dove directly back to HQ. The other is ready to transport Prince to the new safehouse location."- Wufei's voice stated over their headsets.

"Fire, how are things proceeding on your end?" Zechs asked, not taking his eyes off his brother.

-"Nothing suspicious has occurred, but that just seems suspicious in itself. No sight of even one protester."- Noin called out with a noticeable strain in her voice.

Before Zechs could reply, Sally's voice suddenly cut in. -"Wind, the power seems to be fluctuating in the control room. Are any other areas experiencing this?"-

Both Heero and Zechs shot their attention to the lights above, and quickly noticed a faint flickering. "Dawn team, has there been any activity around the circuit breakers?" Heero quickly asked.

-"Negative, sir. We've had all access points to any utilities under guard since the inspection."- came a woman's firm reply.

At the other end of the room, it was taking all of Qutre's self control to continue smiling. His heart was racing, and the hot lights above were making him uncomfortable. Everything he was hearing through the headset made it all the more nerve wracking. _'Duo and Trowa found the evidence... Relena's the one behind everything.' _Sitting beside the clearly disturbed woman was making his skin crawl. She was obsessed.

'_With her own brother..'_

The woman shifted slightly in her seat beside him as she listened to another reporter's question. She seemed to be inching closer to him throughout the entire event, which only increased Quatre's unease. He glanced down at the white fabric of her dress was close to touching him. The dress was a bit formal for such a function, but Quatre's thoughts came to a screeching halt when there was something that looked out of place. Peeking out from under a satin sash tied around her waist was a clear plastic cap.

'_A.. A syringe safety cap...'_

His gaze shot up towards Relena, and his heart pounded when her blue eyes met his own. A smirk twitched her lips upward as her fingers gave a sharp snap.

In the blink of an eye, every light in the building cut off. There was an alarmed yelp as a commotion stirred amongst the reporters, but there were firm shouts that echoed over the worried crowd.

"Everyone stay where you are! Someone find out what the hell happened to the lights!"

"Lock down the building! No one gets in or out!"

The moment the lights shut off Quatre launched himself as far away from the table as he could. He felt something swat at him, but it only caught his sleeve as he jerked back. A frustrated growl sounded from nearby, but it was followed by hurried footsteps rushing away. Keeping low to the floor in the darkness, Quatre focused on the blueprints he had memorized of the building. He ran through every point that would give him the best cover, and settled on a ventilation shaft that connected the conference room to a circuit breaker room. He could hear Heero and Zechs calling for him, but he didn't want to give away his position to anyone else that was looking for him in the pitch black.

It took him a moment to locate the grate, but he was quickly prying it free and slipping inside as the confusion continued. Crawling his way through the narrow metal corridor, Quatre waited until he was halfway to contact the others through his headset. "Prince is fine. Relocating to a different position."

He didn't have the wait long for a response.

-"Prince! Where the hell are you_?_!"- both Heero and Zechs seemed to snap at him.

Quatre couldn't hold back his chuckle. "Heh.. I'm making my way to position 37. There I may be able figure out what is going on."

-"Dragon, you're closest. Guard that position. Wind and I will keep watch over the access point. "- Heero called back quickly.

-"Roger, Wing. Prince, have you arrived at position 37?"-

"Nearly. Few more seconds..." Quatre found the grate that separated him from the circuit breaker room and pushed against it. The thin metal grate soon gave way, and Quatre was quick to catch it before it went clattering to the ground. He wasted no time climbing out of the vent and into the circuit breaker room. It was still completely black, but Quatre fished his cell phone out of his pocket. Using the display light to see by, he began looking around.

"I'm in, Dragon. Where are you?"

Five quick knocks sounded against the door to the small room. -"Position 37."-

Wasting no time, Quatre went to the narrow door and opened it. "Wufei..."

"I'm here." Wufei was able to squeeze himself inside, and once the door was closed he let out a heavy breath. "Damn.. Are you okay?" It was hard to really check within the dim cell phone light.

"I'm fine. She made a grab for me, but I was able to get away." Quatre looked down at his left sleeve and frowned when he saw a tear caused by something slicing into his cuff. "Wing, the item that was reported missing may be in the possession of Dove. Please use caution."

-"Copy that, Prince. Stay in place while we continue to contain the situation."-

Wufei shook his head and folded his arms over his chest. "This is insane. I'm almost insulted that woman has us running around like this." Wufei muttered quietly.

"She can be cunning when the situation calls for it, but this is madness." Quatre continued looking over the circuit breakers for anything that would be out of place. "I just wish I knew what provoked this. None of it makes any sense."

"That woman has never made any sense from the beginning." Wufei readily snorted. "As long as you are safe then she can't accomplish her twisted agenda. That is all that matters."

Quatre frowned slightly, but he made no comment. He had promised Heero to slack off on the self blame. "We really can't make another move until the power is restored. I know the layout of the building, but we don't know how well Relena has prepared for this."

"It's best we stay put for the time being. If we do make a move, it should be focused on getting you to the armored cars. We have the evidence we need to begin a formal investigation. No need to place your life in further danger." The Asian man leaned back against the wall and bowed his head in thought. "How.. Are you holding up?"

Glancing back to his comrade, Quatre quirked up a brow. "Holding up?"

Wufei nodded slightly and lifted his head to meet the shadowed blue gaze. "I would like to think that I know you fairly well at this point. All of this mindless violence focused towards you... I admire your resolve to keep your control in the face of it." A slight smirk suddenly made his lips twitch upwards. "Your acting has improved greatly."

The sly comment had a frustrated pout forming at Quatre's pale face. "Oh shut up. You catch me taking one acting class, and you never let me live it down." He promptly flipped off his companion and returned to his task. "People keep asking me how I'm doing.. But I don't even know the answer. I don't know what to feel at this point. I'm just... Tired."

The honest answer had Wufei frowning in concern. "Have you told this to anyone else?"

"Heero pretty much can tell just looking at me. The others usually take my answers for what they are. I'm sure they don't believe me when I say I'm okay." Quatre found a black wire peeking out from a panel and began trying to pry it open. "But what am I supposed to say? That I feel like week old road kill that's been run over a few hundred times? How I feel won't change the situation one way or another."

He couldn't deny the last comment, so Wufei let the matter drop. Instead he pushed away from the wall to see what the blonde was up to. "Une had me fill out request forms for you to go on vacation leave. She automatically approved them. You'll have a month off once all of this is over."

Quatre paused in what he was doing and considered the offer. "A vacation... I don't think I've ever taken one... At least not for myself." he mused before prying the panel off. He traced the black wire that seemed out of place, and soon came upon a device that was mounted on the other wires within the panel. "What the... Wufei, hold my cell up."

Wufei readily took up the phone and aimed the display light towards the device. "What is it..?"

"I'm not sure.. It's not something I recognize.. It doesn't belong here, though. You can see where the wires were recently spliced." Quatre inspected the wire connectors and traced where each wire led to. "Whatever it is.. It taps into the main switches for the courthouse lights..."

"If this is a remote triggered device, it would have been a simple matter of her to kill the power from a distance." Wufei commented as he tried to look for anything familiar on the small square device.

"I don't think she was the one. She gave a signal. There's someone else within the building working with her."

"Dammit.." Wufei reached up for his headset. "Wing, we've found evidence of tampering at position 37. Suggests an accomplice acting under signals."

-"Roger. The building is under lockdown. We're trying to get the backup generators operational, but there are signs of tampering there as well. We're commencing investigations with use of flashlights. Still no sign of Dove. Hold your position."-

"Affirmative." Wufei turned his attention to the blonde. "Think we should try removing it?"

The blonde head shook. "I don't think it would be wise. I don't have anything cut the wires, and we don't know what else this thing might do."

That thought had Wufei frowning. "If that's the case then we may not be safe here."

"At this point we're not safe anywhere." Quatre snorted as he looked away from the device. "We're right where Relena wants us. This entire things screamed trap from the beginning." He clenched his fists for a moment before he let out a frustrated sigh. "I knew I was going to be in the center of that trap, but I didn't want anyone else caught with me... Ow! What the hell was that for_?_!" Quatre yelped as he clutched at the ear that was just flicked hard.

Giving a bland glare, Wufei poked the center of the pale forehead. "That was for trying to get away with using yourself as bait. Idiot. You should know better than to think we'd let you try that on your own. That only proves that you're wearing yourself too thin if you can't even grasp that."

Quatre blinked at the retort only to glare right back and fold his arms over his chest. "For being pinned as the victim, I'm certainly taking a lot of abuse from my so called friends. So I blame myself a lot. So I don't want anyone else to get hurt. Get the fuck over it. That's how I am. I'm not helpless. I'm not going to fall apart. So quit acting like I'm going to shatter into a million pieces!"

The outburst was a little unexpected, but Wufei calmly arched up an eyebrow as he gave a little smirk. "Feel better?"

Pouting again, Quatre looked away stubbornly. "Arrogant bastard. You always set me off like that."

Wufei's smirk grew as he placed his hand atop the blonde head. "You always need it. I know the others coddle you too much. It's just how they are. You know they're only worried."

The Arabian swatted the hand away from his head with a little huffing noise. "I know that, but it's still annoying. It's like I'm still 15. It makes me wanna bite something." he grunted, lightly grinding his teeth.

"Heh. Good. Get angry. You always hold yourself back. You have the right to be pissed more than anyone." Wufei rested his hand and Quatre's shoulder and looked him in the eye. "Use that anger. I know you're worried about losing yourself to it, but your stronger than that. You can make it work for you."

He wanted to go with that advice, but, on looking at those steady dark eyes locked on his own, Quatre let out a sigh and gave a weak smile. "I appreciate that, Wufei. You're the only one I can be candid with."

Gripping a bit tighter to the tense shoulder, Wufei shook his head. "You can be with the others, you just don't have to worry about putting me off. You're far too polite. It's okay to be a bastard every now and then. Even for you."

"I've always wanted to be a bastard." Quatre chuckled at his own expense and allowed his shoulders to slump a little.

Wufei was about to comment, but the sounds of footsteps coming down the corridor beyond the door had both of them still. It was a distinct clicking sound. Like someone wearing high heels.

Quatre immediately closed his cell phone and put it in his pocket to kill the light source. The door to the circuit breaker room automatically locked any time it was closed and could only be opened from the inside unless someone had the key._ 'But... She probably has a key...'_

Thinking the same thing, Wufei immediately drew his side arm and pushed the blonde to get behind him. "Get back into the vent shaft." he whispered as he took aim.

He instantly wanted to refuse, but Quatre knew now wasn't the time to argue. He moved back to the vent opening just as the sound of a key inserting into the lock alerted them that they had been found out.

The thin metal of the door seemed to explode as three gunshots pierced through. The sound nearly deafened him, but Quatre immediately spun around when he heard Wufei cry out. "Wufei!"

Light was pouring through the bullet holes and showed the Chinese man collapsed on the floor clutching at his right shoulder. Ignoring the impending danger, Quatre dropped down to his friend's side and pulled him close. "Wufei! Where were you hit_?_!" he hissed quickly as he tried to get a grip on the frenzy his mind was falling into.

Gasping through his clenched teeth, Wufei tried to stop the warmth pouring out of his shoulder with his trembling left hand. "Quatre.. Run... Go.. Now!" he growled as he made a weak attempt to pull away.

But Quatre only held tighter. "Shut the fuck up!" The door began creaking open, so he quickly leaned in to whisper into his fallen comrade's ear. "Whatever happens in the next few minutes, I need you to contact Sally once you're safe. Tell her that favor she did for me is coming into play."

Wufei stared in confusion as the door continued to open. "Wh.. What..?"

A smirk curled Quatre's lips as he glanced towards the door. "The reason I became the bait..." He pulled a piece of paper from his jacket pocket and quickly slipped it into Wufei's. "She's not the only one who can set a trap."

The door finally opened and kept Wufei from voicing anything further.

They were both blinded by a bright light, but they could hear a soft giggling coming from the pitch black corridor. "There you are, Quatre dear... I've been looking everywhere for you." that too familiar high pitched voice called out giddily.

The blonde head lifted and aqua eyes narrowed sharply as they glared at the shadow beyond the light. "Relena... Stop this. I'll do as you say. Just leave Wufei and the others alone." he stated on an even flat tone.

"Quatre, you can't trust her!" Wufei growled as he weakly clutched the arm around him with his right hand.

Another giggle filled the silence. "How noble, Sweet Quatre... And if I decide to get rid of this mouthy piece of trash now?"

Quatre saw the outline of a gun aimed at his friend, but a wide smirk was pulling over his face. "You do anything to anyone I care about, you best make sure I'm dead first. Or I'll take pleasure in ripping off your face and shoving it down your throat."

That calm manner he spoke in startled Wufei. _'He.. He means it..'_ The hold that was on him was becoming too tight, but it strengthened the blonde's words. Quatre was pissed. Beyond pissed. He noticed the outline of the gun dropping slightly as if the psychotic woman was startled by the words. _'She knows he's serious...' _His eyes then flickered to his comrade.

There was a hardened edged to that strange smile that was almost daring the woman to try something. The glint in the blue eyes showed someone that had no fear of the situation. Someone that knew what they were doing. _'He has a plan...'_

Wufei knew he was dead weight at this point. The first step his friend had to overcome in order to continue. He had been given a task to carry out as a part of this plan. A task he couldn't accomplish if he didn't allow the blonde to proceed.

It seemed like an eternity before he forced himself to finally release his friend's arm. "You better not die, Winner." Wufei growled quietly.

An amused hum left the Arabian as he carefully released his wounded comrade. "If I do, you have permission to kill me." Without another glance to the ebony eyes glaring at him, Quatre stood up and raised his hands. "I'll go quietly. Give me your word you won't harm anyone else."

The gun finally lowered and the shadowed figure took a step back. "You're the only one I want, Quatre. Now let's take this to a better location, shall we? There's a lot we have to do."

A slight sneer tugged at Quatre's lips, but he kept his calm expression. "I'm sure.. Let's get it over with." he muttered as he walked out of the circuit breaker room.

Lying helplessly on the floor, Wufei clenched his teeth tightly as he watched the sadistic woman lead his friend away at gunpoint. The wide smile on her darkened face made his stomach turn, but he had to bite back his tears as they went out of sight. He could still hear her heels clicking sharply on the tiled floor, but then a door opened and the sound disappeared as the door closed.

The entire time he could hear the voices of everyone calling out through his headset. Trying to confirm if they were okay and where the gunshots had come from. He forced his right hand to lift to his headset so his could finally respond. "Dragon down at position 37... Sustaining.. Multiple wounds. Losing blood.." His head was feeling dizzy. This wasn't good.

-"Dragon! What the hell happened_?_! Where's Prince_?_!"- Zechs' voice called out quickly.

Wufei wasn't eager to face the older blonde's wrath, but he had no choice in the matter. "Dove cornered us. Prince surrendered himself to protect me. I.. I don't know their present location." Having to admit that pained him more than his injuries ever could.

-"Dragon! Stay still, I'll be there as soon as I can!" Sally's voice answered soon after.

-"Dragon, was there any clue on where Dove might be taking him?"- Heero questioned, but his voice was clearly strained.

"No, but I think Prince may have some sort of plan."

There was a short pause before he could hear Heero letting out a frustrated breath. -"Understood. We'll continue with the lockdown until we've secured the entire building. Contact the backup on route and have them increase the people at the exits and road blocks. No one gets in or out of the area. Dragon, I want a full account once we reach you."-

Recognizing that tone, Wufei winced slightly. "Understood..." He lowered his hand and allowed his head to rest back on the cement floor. He could feel his blood continue to seep through the wounds in his shoulder and the flesh wounds on his left hip and calf. Trailing beneath him and pooling around him.

However his own pain didn't even register anymore. All he could focus on was the look in those sharp blue eyes and that steady voice. The threat that was so readily declared. The hands that rose in surrender far too easily.

'_I've always wanted to be a bastard.'_

A weak laugh left Wufei as he stared out into the darkness around him.

"You're a perfect bastard, Quatre."

Too perfect.

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TBC

Dramatic.

Later~


	13. Stall for time

Come in to my parlor...

Enjoy~

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Chapter 13

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Heading in the direction of where ever the flashlight behind him pointed, Quatre calmly walked down the dark hallways of the courthouse. He could hear the psychotic woman behind him humming like a carefree school girl. He recognized the tune to be one that he often played with Trowa in a duet.

Hearing it made a scowl form over his pale face. _'How dare she taint the piece I composed with Trowa...'_ The fact that she was his sister was beginning to matter less and less the more she continued to breathe.

It was getting to the point where it didn't matter at all. _'This bitch needs to be put down.'_

"How exactly are you planning to escape? The security is increasing by the minute." he commented lightly as they made another turn.

Another giggle left Relena as she pressed the barrel of the gun into his back. "Don't worry your pretty little head, dearest Quatre. I have everything carefully planned. Oh, and before I forget, why don't you go ahead and take off that headset you're wearing? I know Heero gave you one."

Not surprised that detail didn't slip past her, Quatre reached up and took off the small headset that hugged around his ear. He looked at it for a moment, but when he felt the gun barrel press harder into his spine he let out a sigh and chucked it into the darkness around them. "This seems so unnecessary. You know, if you wanted to get me alone for whatever purpose, you could have just requested my presence. There was no need to get innocents involved." he pointed out in as bland a tone as he could manage.

When he thought of it, all of the plots were highly over done. If he had been the one to snap and go psycho over her, which turned his stomach completely, he knew he would have been able to do so with little effort. At that moment his mind was already categorizing different methods to regain control and neutralize the threat.

So far non lethal force was becoming an irrelevant requirement.

Relena hummed softly and allowed the barrel of the gun trail along his spine through his black jacket. "But innocents were needed... I was counting on that overbearing sense of self sacrifice. I wanted you to risk your life helping those people." She pressed the gun a bit harder. "I wanted you to die in the midst of being the saintly angel of mercy you so often are."

Quatre's eyes narrowed deeply. "You placed those people in danger in an attempt to get me to die in the line of duty?"

"That's right... But it seems as if I keep underestimating the power of your will. Such a stubborn creature you are. Like a cockroach."

Ignoring the pain when the gun was jabbed hard into his spine, Quatre resisted the urge to turn around and slap her. "So you wanted to make a martyr out of me.. Why?"

"All in due time, my darling. I wish for more attractive scenery before I speak any further."

He knew that he wouldn't get anything else from her without tempting her unstable anger, so he kept silent. But one thing kept grating at his mind. _'Where the hell are the security teams for this area? I know Zechs was supposed to have constant patrols...'_

The moment the thought crossed his mind he saw a figure crumpled on the floor further ahead. He recognized the person as one of the members of the armed escorts that often accompanied any diplomat that visited the Preventers HQ. What rattled him the most was that this man had always proven to be a skilled and intelligent fighter. For him to have been taken out...

"What did you do to him?" he asked as he weakly attempted to see if the man was still breathing as they approached.

"Don't worry. He's not dead. Not yet at least. He put up quite the fight." She pushed him forward past the crumpled man and shone the light at a door at the end of the hall. "That door."

Quatre kept moving forward, but he noticed something on the fallen guard's thigh as they passed. It was small, but even in the darkness he recognized it. _'A tranquilizer dart... She has the power cut, and has her accomplice tranq the security teams so they'll go under without alerting the others...'_ It was clever. Too clever for his tastes.

He reached the door and took hold of the handle. Pulling it open, he winced slightly when the light from the sun poured in. He was nudged out through the doorway only to find himself in an alley behind the courthouse. One glance around the alley let him see six more Preventers uniforms scattered around the pavement.

He had to bite the inside of his lip to keep his expression calm. _'All this just to get at me... What the hell have I done? What deserves this mindless terror?_!_'_ His anger was now close to breaking through the iron clad restraints he kept it locked in, but he pushed it back. He had to keep his head if he was going to succeed.

Another nudge had him turning to the right where he quickly spotted a white limo awaiting on a back street. "Bit noticeable." he commented dryly.

"You sound as if there is anyone around to notice it." Relena countered coyly. "I've already taken care of one of the road blocks. We'll have no trouble leaving the area."

His eyes narrowed, but he kept moving forward. _'How many people does she have working for her...' _At the limo he spotted a driver dressed in a suit, but holstered to his waist was a sidearm. The man didn't even attempt to hide it. He just kept staring forward obediently.

'_Not good.. Can't reason with him. Should assume that all of them are like this. I'm on my own...'_ Of course he knew that he was going to be on his own since he devised this emergency plan. _'Sorry for lying to you, Heero. I really wanted to keep that promise.'_

The only way he was going to stop this madness was from the heart of it. He had to understand how far Relena's reach went. How many people were involved. To what extent they were willing to go to carry out their objectives. Even though he appeared to be the ultimate objective, the plan apparently changed.

'_Taking such a bold measure makes her involvement visible. So her goals must have changed. If she wanted me simply dead, she could have done something back in the circuit breaker room.'_ The moment he reached the limo, the driver moved to open the door. He took in the plush interior before climbing inside and scooting over. Relena slipped in beside him, but still kept the gun trained on him. A glance at her from the corner of his eyes let him see the look of barely contained excitement on her now wild features.

'_She wants me alive now... Alive and in her custody...'_ Dark images began filling his head, but, instead of succumbing to the bitter knot that was twisting in his stomach, he kept facing the front of the limo and allowed his eyes to close. His hands folded delicately in his lap as he listened to the rumble of the engine starting.

"So calm... Putting up a brave face, my dearest?" Relena cooed, running a finger along the length of his black clad arm.

A soft snort left Quatre, but he made no other reaction. "I've encountered things far more terrifying than the likes of you. If you're expecting me to fear you, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed." Quatre suddenly felt cold metal tilting his chin harshly upwards. He cracked his eye open to see a barely contained rage in the woman's gaze.

Pressing the gun barrel hard against the pale skin beneath the man's chin, Relena's left eye was twitching as she glared at him. "Your life is in my grasp... Can you truly tell me that means nothing to you..?"

For some reason the question simply amused him. A wide smirk was curling his lips as he let his chin press harder against the gun. "Death means nothing. If you're going to do it, then go ahead. My troubles will be over, and you'll be persecuted for the rest of your miserable existence." His eyes became half lidded as his smirk became evil. "The evidence has already mounted against you, Relena. You may have a small army on your side, but I have over half the human population on mine... I've already won. And I don't have to lift a single finger."

The rage was literally boiling in Relena's face. Her skin was flushed bright red and her hand was trembling. Her finger was so close to pulling the trigger, but she jerked her hand away and snarled. "I will not let you win, Quatre... Before long I'm going to have that pretty face begging me for mercy..." She reared back her left hand and dealt a swift smack across the pale face.

Quatre made no reaction to the strike, which only angered her further. He knew he was playing a dangerous game, but it was a game he was a master of. _'You may be cunning, but you're a novice at psychological warfare. You'll break long before I will.'_ His smirk returned as he casually crossed his legs. "Such ugly actions, Miss Relena. Most unbecoming."

A high pitched growl erupted from her as she barked at the driver. "To the bunker! Now!"

'_Bunker..?'_ Bunker suggested a possible underground complex. Sizes ranged from a few rooms to a full scale military operation. _'If she doesn't put me under I can memorize the layout even if I'm blindfolded... I just need to stall for time.. Allow the others to catch up.'_

He glanced out the tinted window to the sky above. _'I'm counting on you, Wufei.. Everyone...'_

_fjfjfjfjfjfjfjfjfj_

TBC

I wonder which one is the spider...

Later~


End file.
